Triple Threat (Re-Written)
by LoveStory-Fanatic
Summary: AU: Few new things in the Pegasus galaxy. One goes by the name of Nikki Teagan and she has a few surprises up her sleeve. Including some kick-ass moves that catch the attention of a certain fly-boy we all know and love. What's going to happen when she's introduced to the galaxy where anything and everything is possible?
1. Triple Threat

**A/N: I do not own SGA. Isn't it interesting that we all post that we don't own what we're writing about even though that's obvious because we're posting on a fan fiction site? Sorry, just got to thinking about that.**

**Anywho, I've already written and posted most of the story. But...then the other day I was re-reading the beginning and saw how many mistakes there were. SO I decided to fix all the mistakes and also add in some extra information.**

**I thought this would be easier than going back through and deleting everything. Also, that way people will actually read the updates and everything.**

**This story contains original characters. If you don't like story's with OC's, give it a chance.**

**This is an AU. Elizabeth is alive and Carson is not a clone. Just thought I'd point that out. Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 1**

"Weir to Sheppard, come in."

John put down his sandwich and hit his com. "Sheppard here."

Rodney looked up from his pad wondering if there was some kind of emergency. Again. He was mentally preparing himself to have to save the entire city singlehandedly.

"John, the new recruits from Earth just arrived on the Daedalus. I'd like you to meet them in the gate room and get everything settled." John sighed and stood up to leave. "On my way. Sheppard out."

He looked around the table at his teammates: Ronon, Teyla, and Rodney. "Well, I gotta go. The Daedalus just arrived and Elizabeth wants me to settle in our newcomers. Are we still on for sparring later, Teyla?"

She nodded, "Of course. You can use all the practice you can get." He made a face at her and said, "Oh ha ha, very funny. I'll see you then." Teyla smiled and they watched as he left the mess hall.

He walked down corridor after corridor until he reached the gate room. He reached up and hit his com. "Daedalus, this is Sheppard. We are ready to receive the recruits."

Lt. Stuart's voice came over the com, "This is the Daedalus. Beaming them down now, sir."

A bright light filled the gate room as the new recruits were beamed down to the city. Among the recruits were a variety of scientists, doctors, and military officers that were much needed since the last battle with the Wraith. Colonel Sheppard handpicked a few of them himself, as did the rest of the senior staff.

"Welcome to Atlantis. I'm Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, Commanding Military Officer of Atlantis. Now, if the doctors would kindly step down to your right and wait there for Dr. Beckett and the scientists move down to your left and wait for Dr. McKay, it would make things go much faster."

He hit his com again, "Drs. Beckett and McKay, please report to the gate room to meet the new members of your team."

"Military! Follow me and I'll show you the ropes."

John gave the military the grand tour of the city, including where the weapons room, the mess hall, and their quarters were. "At 1600 hours, there will be a meeting for all new members of the expedition in the central tower conference room. I suggest you get acquainted with the city and settle into your rooms until then."

He smiled and made his way to the gym. He walked through the doors to find Teyla standing there with both their banto sticks. She tossed his set to him and he caught them.

"You're late." They started to circle each other slowly. "Yeah, sorry about that. The tour took longer than expected."

They sparred for about an hour and a half, which mostly involved John ending up on the floor and having to pick himself back up. Then Ronon walked in, causing John to get distracted and not see Teyla's banto stick coming straight for his head. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the infirmary with Dr. Beckett standing over him.

"Doc…what happened?" Carson looked behind him. "He's awake."

Elizabeth, Teyla, and Ronon walked over the end of the bed John was laying on. Ronon had a smirk on his face as he said, "Teyla knocked you out. I carried you here."

He looked from Ronon to Teyla. "It is true. Ronon walked in and you got distracted. You did not see my strike coming. I thought you were going to dodge, but you did not. I am sorry, John."

"Don't worry about it. That's what I get for not paying attention. I didn't miss the meeting, did I?"

Elizabeth smiled, "No, actually we were just on our way up there." He looked over to Beckett. "Am I cleared to go?" Carson checked the bandage on the Colonel's temple and then checked his readings. "Aye, you're fine to go. Just take it easy and don't do anything overly strenuous for 24 hours otherwise you'll probably be back here complaining of a nasty headache. Off you go."

"Thanks, Carson." John slowly sat up and then got to his feet. He was a little slower than normal on his way to the conference room, but it wasn't too bad. They had to hold three separate meetings debriefing the new recruits since not everyone could fit in the conference room at once. The military newcomers were the first to be debriefed.

They were already in the conference room when Elizabeth, John, Rodney, Teyla, Ronon, and Carson entered the room. They all sat down in their respective chairs while most of the recruits stood along the doors. Most of them kept passing glances at the bandage on the Colonel's temple, but no one said anything.

The meetings went as planned: long and boring for the senior staff and overloading for the new recruits. Assigning everyone jobs was scheduled for the following morning.

Later on that evening, John joined his team in the mess hall for supper like usual. They had all finished their meal and were sitting there laughing at Rodney's expense when a fight broke out on the other side of the mess hall. A tall, lean man was getting into another man's face. The first guy seemed to be a scientist while the other was a marine.

John jumped up and ran over to the men fighting. "What seems to be the problem here?" They both stopped what they were doing and looked to see the Commanding Military Officer of Atlantis standing there with his hands on his hips.

The marine snapped to attention at the sight of his commanding officer. "At ease, Lt. Now, how about you tell me what the hell is going on."

The scientist turned to face Sheppard. "This guy was harassing my sister. I was simply standing up for her." John looked around, but didn't see a woman anywhere near where the fight had started. "And where is your sister?"

"She's not here, but he was telling me all the things that…well, that he could do to her, sir. He talked about locking her in a room, tying her up, and…doing…stuff…to her. I'd really rather not repeat what he said, if it's all the same to you, sir."

John nodded and slowly turned towards the Lt. Just looking at his face he could tell the man wasn't lying. "Lt., report to my office in one hour and we'll have a nice long discussion about this. Is that clear?"

The marine blushed. "Yes, sir."

"Good. You're dismissed."

He turned back to the scientist. "Okay, what's your name and who's your sister?"

"I'm Dr. Alex Teagan. And my sister is Dr. Nikki Teagan, sir."

John sighed. General O' Neill had warned him about these siblings. From what he heard, trouble seemed to follow the two around, but who didn't have trouble following them when they were in the Pegasus galaxy? "Okay, let me know if anything more is said. Have a good night."

"Yes, sir. And you too. Thank you." John nodded, turned and walked back to his teammates. Teyla looked up as he approached. "What was that all about, John?"

"Oh, you know. A marine had a few inappropriate words to say and her brother just happened to hear them. I'm going to find the sister now and then in an hour have a private conversation with the marine. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Ronon grunted, Rodney didn't even look up from his laptop, and Teyla waved good-bye. Once John was out of earshot, Ronon spoke up, "I wonder what he's gonna do to that Marine. We all know how Sheppard is when it comes to protecting women."

Teyla sighed and nodded. "Yes, but by the look on the brother's face and the look on John's, the man may deserve it."

SGA

John walked down the hallway towards the science labs. He found Zalenka working away at one of his numerous projects. Radek looked up as John walked into the room.

"Colonel Sheppard. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me track down someone."

Radek picked up his data pad and swiveled in his chair to face the Colonel. "Of course. Who do you need to find?"

John walked towards the table Zalenka was working at. "Dr. Nikki Teagan. There was a fight just a few minutes ago involving her brother."

"Ah, that's not good. Give me just one second to adjust the cities internal sensors to track down specific people."

He tapped away at his pad for a couple of minutes before he looked up. "It looks like she's in the gym closest to the central tower with some marines." Sheppard nodded and headed towards the door. "Thanks, Doc!"

"No problem."

John made his way to the gym. He stopped just outside and watched as a woman with dark auburn hair fought off two men. He watched for a few minutes as the marines got their asses kicked and finally decided to intervene. "Dr. Teagan?"

She didn't pay any attention to him, but watched as the marines went from fighting stances to attention when they realized who had entered the gym. She finally turned to see who had interrupted their sparring. "At ease, marines. How about you get yourselves washed up and get some supper." They nodded, picked up their bags and left the gym.

"Can I help you with something?" John smirked at her attitude. She definitely wasn't like most of the other scientists who were intimidated by him. "Actually, you can. Have you ever talked to a Lt. Gordan?"

She walked over to her bag and picked up her water bottle. "Nope. Is the name supposed to sound familiar?"

"Actually, yes. You see, there was just a fight in the mess hall between the Lt. and your brother regarding you. Happen to know what that was all about?"

She was lifting her bottle to her mouth, but froze at his words. "Fight? Is my brother okay? What happened?" John put his hands in the air and stepped closer. "He's fine. I broke it up before any punches could be thrown. I guess the marine decided he wanted to…get quite a workout, if you know what I mean, and your brother happened to be sitting close by. Now, you've never met the guy before?"

She stopped to think. "Well, I just got here today. He could be one of the ones I was sparring with earlier. I don't know any of the names of the guys I was sparring with. Some big guy with dreadlocks kept sending them in here to get their asses kicked."

He smirked. Of course. Ronon loved to watch the marines get their asses kicked. Especially by women. He tapped his com. "Ronon, this is Sheppard. Come in." There was a pause then Ronon's voice came over the com. "Yeah, Shep?" He almost smiled at the little nickname Ronon had gotten into the hang of using.

"That marine that was in the fight. Was he one of the ones you sent in to fight during a sparring match earlier today against Dr. Nikki Teagan?" There was silence for a few seconds. "Yeah. Is that who it was about?"

"Sure was, buddy. Thanks, Sheppard out."

He turned to look at Nikki. "Well, looks like he was one of the ones you were sparring with. From now on, you may want to get the names of the men you're sparring with and kick their asses enough they won't want to lock you in a room and pin you to the bed."

He turned to leave, but Nikki called out for him. "Wait. Aren't you the CMO here?"

He turned back towards her and nodded. "Good to know." She smiled, picked up her bag, and walked right by him and out of the gym, leaving him there more confused than when he walked in.

SGA

An hour and a half later, a very embarrassed and pissed off marine exited Colonel Sheppard's office, passing Major Lorne on his way out. Lorne stuck his head in his office. "Is this a bad time, sir?"

Sheppard looked up from where he was sitting at his desk running a hand roughly through his hair. "No, come on in, Major."

Lorne walked in and sat down in a chair in front of the desk. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, what was that about?"

John closed his eyes for a moment and reopened them, focusing them on his second in command. "It seems the Lt. decided to tell his friends all about what he wanted to do to a certain 'hot as sin' doctor on his first day here only to make the mistake of saying it within earshot of her brother. The guy's lucky I was at the other end of the mess hall when it all went down, otherwise he'd probably be in the infirmary right about now."

Lorne nodded his head, "I see. On his first day here?" John nodded and sighed. The things he had to deal with being in command of the military on an Ancient base in a whole other galaxy from Earth. "Let's just say, he won't be going off world for a while, flying the jumpers, or pretty much anything else. He's grounded for a couple weeks to learn some manners."

Evan chuckled at his commander's words. Everyone knew the Colonel's low tolerance for sexual harassment and any harassment of any kind. Well, everyone except the newcomers that is.

"Well, that ought to teach him a lesson." John nodded and then remembered he had asked the Major to come here. "Major, have you ever heard of Nikki Teagan?"

There was a glint in Evan's eyes when Sheppard said her name. "Yes, sir. She's the one who's been kicking everyone's ass sparring. Even kicked mine earlier today. She's good. What is she? A Lt.?" John chuckled. "Actually, she's the female McKay with some kick ass moves and a background in medical science."

Lorne's eyes bugged out. "So, she's a triple threat." He nodded. "Yep. Let's just hope she's not as arrogant as Rodney. Otherwise we'll all be in trouble."

**So, what did you think? Hopefully you liked it. Please let me know!**


	2. Spidey Senses

**A/N: Since it's tradition, I will say I do not own sga. I do own my original characters though.**

**Re-written chapter with more action than the previous version. Hope you enjoy this version better!**

**Chapter 2**

A couple of weeks went by with the city being uncharacteristically calm and silent. The new members of the expedition had plenty of time to acquaint themselves with the new technology and their new home without the impending threat of the city blowing up, being attacked by alien species, virus' spreading havoc, you name it.

John walked into Elizabeth's office early one morning. "Does anything feel...off to you?"

Elizabeth looked up from her laptop and eyed the Colonel. "Not particularly. Why? Are you itching to go find us another problem to solve?" Sheppard starting pacing the floor in her office.

"It's just that my spidey senses are tingling. I don't know...maybe it's just because everything's been so...boring lately..."

There was a beat before Dr. Weir picked up on his hesitation. "But…?"

He stopped pacing and looked at her. "Something doesn't feel right." She closed her laptop and clasped her hands together on her desk. "I don't know, John. Maybe we finally just caught a break for once. Why don't you take the rest of the day off. Relax, spend time with your team. Maybe get to know some of the new people a little more. You never know, maybe it's just that you're getting anxious from having so much downtime."

John stopped and thought about what she was saying. "Maybe you're right. But if my spidey senses are tingling for a reason, you owe me a beer." She smiled and nodded. "You have a deal. Now go relax."

John made his way to the door. "Yes, ma'am."

He made his way to the mess hall to join his teammates for breakfast. When he arrived, the first thing he saw was Lt. Gordan marching over to where Nikki Teagan sat with some of her colleagues. He spun her chair around, grabbed her head between his hands and planted his mouth on hers. Immediately she started struggling against him, but he held her to him.

John ran over to them and grabbed Lt. Gordan by the shoulders. "That's enough, Lt.!" As soon as Sheppard's hands touched him, he snapped. Gordan let go of Nikki and then spun around so fast it was almost inhuman. He punched John across the jaw and sent him sprawling on the ground as if he were in basic training and not the CMO of an alien base. Gordan straddled John before he could move and starting punching the hell out of him. His strikes were so fast there was no way Sheppard could block him. Several marines tried prying him off of the Colonel, but he was too strong.

Ronon burst from his seat, crossed the mess hall in seconds and tackled Gordan to the ground. Vaguely he heard someone radio for a med team, but that was the last thing he heard before everything went dark.

About 4 hours later, John woke up in the infirmary with a nasty headache. He opened his eyes and looked around. Beckett was standing across the room talking to Rodney, Ronon, and Elizabeth. He looked to the other side of the room and saw Teyla talking to Nikki and Alex Teagan.

He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain split through his skull and he squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to stop a soft moan from escaping his lips, but he failed. In seconds Dr. Beckett was standing over him with Elizabeth right behind him.

"How do you feel, Colonel?" He opened his eyes and made contact with Beckett.

"Like I was punched with inhuman strength and then pummeled like a first year. What the hell got into him?"

"That's what we're still trying to figure out. There's nothing out of the ordinary about his scans, but we're keeping him isolated until further notice."

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to speak. "John, what exactly happened?" He finally managed to sit up with a little help from Carson. He looked around to see that Teyla, Nikki, Alex, Rodney, and Ronon had also joined the conversation. "Well, I went to the mess hall right after leaving your office. When I walked in, I saw Gordan walk over to the good doctor, spin her around and kiss her. I figured it was just a happy greeting. Until she started to struggle. And then I remembered the little discussion I had to have with the Lt. the first day he got here."

Rodney interrupted before he could continue, "Was that about the fight in the mess hall?" John nodded and continued, "I told him that's enough and grabbed his shoulder to move him away from her. As soon as I touched him...it was like he just snapped. He spun around so fast I didn't realize what was happening until I was laying on the ground with a sore jaw. Before I could move, he straddled me and was beating the hell out of me. I've never seen anyone move that fast. Last thing I heard was someone calling for a medic and then lights out." He turned and looked at Elizabeth. "Oh, and you owe me a beer."

She sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, I do. From now on I'll trust your spidey senses." John smirked at her. "Good."

"Whoah, wait a minute now. Spidey senses? Is there something I should know here?"

"Calm down, Doc. I just had a feeling this morning that something was about to happen. I went and told Elizabeth here about it, but she told me it was probably just the boredom talking and sent me on my way. And then as soon as I got to the mess hall, the suspicion was confirmed."

Ronon looked back and forth between Elizabeth and Sheppard. "Wait, so you knew something was going to happen…" He turned and looked at Elizabeth, "And you played it off as nothing?"

She blushed slightly and nodded. "And that was obviously a mistake. But, how about we divert our efforts into trying to figure out why the Lt. all of a sudden felt the urge to sexually assault someone and then pounce on the Colonel."

"I agree with Dr. Weir. There has to be some explanation for why Lt. Gordan suddenly attacked by Dr. Teagan and the Colonel."

"Aye, Teyla, you're right, but nothing's coming up in the tests I've run. Rodney, have you checked the database for something like this?"

Rodney looked up from his data pad. "Actually, that's what I'm doing right now. So far nothing, but it's only one case, so therefore there's only a limited amount of data I can use to search for. There's a good chance it might happen again or has happened and we just don't know about it yet."

As if on cue, Major Lorne walked in supporting the weight of Dr. Zalenka. "Doc! We could use some help over here!"

Beckett rushed over to them. Lorne had a cut on his temple with blood dripping down his face, but otherwise looked fine. Radek was only partially conscious and was suffering from an even greater head wound and a gash on his thigh.

"Oh mercy! What happened?"

Ronon rushed over and helped the major with Zalenka. They carried him over to a bed and laid him down. "Radek and I were talking about some idea he had about an improvement to the jumpers. He barely started talking about it before one of the scientists went crazy. She started throwing things: computers, chairs, trays, you name it. I tried dodging to get to her to try to calm her down, but she got me with some kind of tool. She shoved me against the wall before I knew what was happening and tried running out of the lab. She threw Zalenka into the wall across the room and he crashed down on a table."

Ronon turned his attention on Lorne, "Literally threw him into the wall?" Lorne looked up at the big guy and replied, "Yeah, picked him up and just hurled him across the room as if he didn't weigh a thing."

Sheppard looked up at Rodney. "Well, there you go, Rodney. There's another case of inhuman strength with a dose of insane for you to add to your search."

McKay nodded and started typing furiously on his data pad. Lorne looked over at the Colonel as if just noticing he were there. "Colonel! What happened to you?"

John turned and looked at his second in command. "You haven't heard the whole city talking about it?"

Lorne moved closer to the bed. "No, sir. Dr. Zalenka and I took a trip over to the main land for a while so he could run some test on something. We've been gone since 0700, sir. When did this happen?"

John looked down at his watch, "Oh, I'd say about 0730. Gordan attacked Nikki in the mess hall, so I stepped in. Damn Gordan knocked me to the ground before I could even blink. Straddled my legs and knocked me around a bit before the big guy tackled him."

Evan's brow furrowed. "So, what? Are we dealing with some kind of epidemic? That can't be a coincidence." Elizabeth crossed her arms. "No. It can't. Let's get to the bottom of this before more people get seriously hurt."

Alex spoke up for the first time during the entire conversation, "Major, who was it that attacked you?"

"It was Dr. Lisa Cavanaugh. She took off from the lab. There was no way I could catch up to her."

Sheppard nodded and looked over at a nurse. "Can I go? I just got knocked around a little. I'm fine." She walked over and checked his vitals and then the stitches on the side of his face. She looked over at Beckett and saw that he was busy with Radek. "Your vitals are fine. I'm going to give you some aspirin for the headache. Come back if it gets worse or persists, got it?"

He nodded and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood up and swayed a little. Thankfully, the only ones who noticed him sway were Lorne and Nikki. Lorne put a hand on the Colonel's arm to brace him as Nikki gave him a worried look. Sheppard nodded at Lorne and sent a reassuring smile towards Nikki as he righted himself.

"Okay, let's get to the bottom of this before I start going crazy myself."

They all left the infirmary, minus Lorne, leaving Beckett to his patients. Walking down the hallway, John turned to Rodney. "Have you found anything yet?"

Rodney glanced up, "What are you crazy? I've barely had two minutes to search with the new information from Lorne. Give me a few minutes."

"Rodney. Lorne, Radek, and I got lucky. The next person may not be. We need to find out what the hell is going on here and figure out a way to stop it." He turned to Elizabeth, "Elizabeth, I suggest we suspend gate travel until all of this is resolved. We don't want to spread whatever this is across the galaxy."

"Agreed. I'll go make the order myself."

Right before she left the group to head to the control room, John grabbed her arm. "You're not going anywhere alone. Not until this is over. Nikki, you can kick some ass. Go with her."

"Yes, Colonel." He turned and looked at her. She had a smug look on her face and winked at him as her and Dr. Weir walked down a separate corridor on their way to the control room.

He shook his head and made a mental note to try to figure out what was with the winks she kept sending him as he turned to look at Alex. "I want you to go around and try to keep people calm. They're probably going to panic soon and that'll just make things worse."

Alex nodded and made his way to the transporter that would take him to the mess hall. Perfect place to start.

Sheppard and his team made their way to Rodney's lab. They didn't come across anyone who had suddenly gotten any violent urges, which was a good thing, but who knew how this thing spread, what it was doing to their people, or how to stop it.

They got to the lab and Rodney set up more laptops. He started reconfiguring the sensors that way they would be alerted when a major outburst happened.

Sheppard turned to Ronon, "We need to get to the weapon's room. Get some stunners so we don't have to use bullets on our own people."

"Agreed."

Teyla walked up to John. "I will stay here with Rodney in case anyone should try to attack him while he is working. I will contact you in case we're alerted to an outburst."

Sheppard nodded and moved towards the door. "Sounds like a plan. Keep in touch."

Him and Ronon exited the lab and made their way to the weapon's room. Still everything was quiet. And then a woman was thrown over a railing and landed an entire story beneath. Sheppard rushed down the stairs and searched for a pulse. Ronon pulled out his gun and tried to target the woman who had thrown the other woman over the railing. She was already at the other end of the corridor and gaining speed. He fired once and it hit her between the shoulders.

It didn't even seem to faze her. He fired two more times before she finally went down with a tumble of her own. Sheppard appeared at Ronon's side. He looked down and asked about the woman who had fallen. Sheppard simply shook his head and made his way towards the woman Ronon had stunned.

She was laying there unconscious, but otherwise unharmed. "Medical team to levels 24 and 25."

He stepped over her and walked into the weapon's room. He grabbed a stunner for himself, one for Ronon and one for Teyla.

They made their way back to the science lab and he handed Teyla the stunner. "Any other outbursts besides the one we took care of?"

She turned and looked at the screen. "Not that I have seen. What is the plan now?"

John seemed to contemplate the options for a moment before answering. "Ronon and I will head up to the control room. Any outbursts or any progress, let me know." She nodded and went back to monitoring the cities sensors for any signs of sudden outbursts.

Once in the control room, John and Ronon found people unconscious, but alive scattered among the floor. It was clear there had been a fight. He reached up and tapped his com. "Elizabeth, this is Sheppard. Please respond…Elizabeth, this is Sheppard. Please respond…Dr. Nikki Teagan, please respond. Nikki Teagan, I repeat. Please respond this is Colonel Sheppard."

He turned and looked at Ronon. "Nothing."

"What do we do now, Sheppard?"

John looked around at everyone laying on the floor. "Medical team to the control room. Several wounded." He turned back to Ronon. "You check and make sure they're alive. I'll check communications just in case."

He picked up one of the laptops that had been knocked to the ground. Surprisingly it was still intact. He pulled up communications and found out that they had been manually disabled. There was no way for him to contact anyone on base. "New plan. Let's head back to the weapon's room and get radios. We'll distribute them to Rodney, Teyla, Lorne, Stackhouse, and anyone else we may need to contact. We'll set up a base in the mess hall. That's where Alex was heading when we separated."

They acquired the radios and distributed them to the infirmary, Lorne, Markham, Teyla, and Rodney.

"Sheppard! I know what it is." John clicked on his radio. "Good! What is it?"

"It's some kind of chemical that messes with the chemicals in the brain. That's why people are turning violent. This thing spreads through touch, so chances are we all have it by now. The database says it only works on those who don't possess the ancient gene. Well, that's a relief. At least the entire base isn't about to go nuts."

"No, but most of it is and those aren't good odds. Is there a cure or antidote? Anything to stop this?"

There was a long pause of silence. "Rodney!"

"Yes, hang on! I'm still trying to figure that one out. I'm going to send this information to Beckett. Maybe he can figure something out."

"Good idea. We're heading to the mess hall to set up a control center. Meet us there."

"Understood. McKay out."

Ronon glanced over at Sheppard. "Well, at least we know what it is now."

"Well aren't you ever the optimist." Ronon grunted and continued walking towards the mess hall.

Once the control center was established and several people were relocated to the mess hall for refuge, they started to formulate a plan. Elizabeth and Nikki walked in right as they were working through their options.

John looked up and saw Weir's panicked expression and Nikki's more calm and in control expression. He took a wild guess and assumed they had been attacked or very nearly on their way here.

A good portion of the base made it to the mess hall. About one fourth of the expedition had fallen "ill" due to the chemical and they were running out of options and out of time.

"Colonel! Do we know what this thing is yet?"

"Where the hell have you two been?! And yes, we do. We're working out a plan now."

Nikki stepped up beside John. "When we got to the control room, it was under attack. I didn't want to take the risk of Dr. Weir getting hurt so we snuck out undetected and hid in the jumper bay for a while, waiting for the control room to empty. And then I figured you'd set up a control center here and we've been trying to make our way here ever since."

John nodded and turned back to the group. "Okay. What are our options?"

Rodney looked up from his pad, "Well, we could set the self-destruct and abandon the city. You know...as a last option." Weir stepped into the group. "That's not an option. What else?"

There was silence. And then Nikki spoke up. "Has Dr. Beckett or McKay found any sort or antidote for it?"

McKay looked back up from his pad. "No, I have not. I have been looking, but there's nothing here! I think we're on our way on this one, Colonel."

John nodded and looked around at everyone. He pressed the button on his radio, "Beckett, this is Sheppard, come in."

"This is Beckett."

"Doc, have you come up with anything we could use against this thing?"

There was a moment's pause and then, "Aye, I have, but you're not gonna like it."

Half an hour later, Sheppard, his team, Elizabeth, and Nikki were all standing in the infirmary standing around Carson's lab table. "Okay, Doc. Let's hear it."

Beckett looked up at the Colonel. "Rodney was wrong. There was something in the database. He just looked right over it. I would have too if I hadn't have been looking back over it a dozen times since I first got it. All we have to do is release a certain chemical into the air. That chemical will counteract the effects of the chemical that is now affecting them."

"Okay, get to the part that I'm not going to like."

"It has to be administered by those with the ancient gene. Otherwise the effects of _that_ chemical will cause serious side effects."

Rodney about jumped for joy. "That's it? That's all we have to do?"

"Sadly, no. Since not everyone who doesn't have the gene has been infected by this damned chemical, we can't simply put it through the air vents. That would be disastrous. The only other way is to inject each person infected by the chemical from a syringe. And that's where the tricky part comes in. You'll have to get close enough to them to inject them."

Ronon looked up at the doctor, "Wait, why do we have to have the ancient gene in order to inject with a needle?"

"The new chemical omits a type of pheromone, even in liquid state. For anyone who does not possess the ancient gene to come into contact with that pheromone would be bad. Very bad."

John was getting tired of this. "Okay. That means Elizabeth, Teyla, and Ronon, you're sitting this one out. Rodney, better get over your fear of needles fast and learn how to use them. Nikki, do you have the gene?"

She looked up at the Colonel and saw hope in his eyes. "Yeah, and from what I hear, I have a pretty strong dose of the stuff too."

"Aye, hers is almost as strong as yours, Colonel. The three of you will have to be fast and make sure all of the chemical gets into their system."

They spent the next fifteen minutes being given a lesson in Needles and Injections 101.

Teyla and Ronon took Elizabeth back to the mess hall, just to be on the safe side. John, Rodney, and Nikki got geared up and set up a way to convert the life signs detectors from the jumpers into sensors that would tell them if someone was infected by the chemical.

Once they got the detectors and then configured them properly, they split up. There were at least thirty people they had to inject with the new chemical. They each got ten a person. Before they went their separate ways, Sheppard turned and looked at the two. "Every time you inject one, radio it in. Understood? That way we can keep tabs on how many are left. And make sure your position is known to this group so there aren't any more problems."

They nodded their heads and split up. Five minutes into the searching, Nikki's voice came over the radio, "Got my first one and am coming up behind the second."

John pressed his radio, "Copy that. I'm about to get my first. Rodney?"

There was silence for a moment. "Yeah, just got my first. I hope."

"You hope? Did you get 'em or not?"

More silence... "Yeah, I got 'em. Moving onto the second."

Soon they had injected twenty-four out of the thirty people. They had only run into few problems so far, but that was when their luck turned.

The one John was after snuck up behind him, shoved him against the wall and tried biting his neck. He braced one arm against the woman holding him, keeping her a little distance away from him, but she was strong. She was quickly overcoming his strength. He barely managed to reach around, grab the next injection, and stick it into the side of her neck before she knocked his arm loose and actually bit him. He screamed out in pain at the same time she did from his stabbing her with the needle. Their cries echoed through the empty hallways as he shoved her body away from him. He watched as she crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"Sheppard! Was that you? Are you okay? What happened?!"

He reached up for his radio. "Well...one of them just took a chunk out of my neck. I'm fine. She's down. I think they're getting territorial. Watch your six."

Rodney radioed in, but John had yet to hear from Teagan. She wasn't responding to her radio. "Rodney, can you locate her?"

"Hang on, let me check."

A minute goes by and then the radio clicks. "Yeah, she's…about two levels below you with...oh god. There's three of them in the same room as her. You better get down there, Sheppard!" Rodney hadn't even finished his sentence and John was already running full steam down the levels toward her.

He stopped outside one of the rooms on that level when he heard scuffling. He peered in and saw Nikki jab the needle in her hand into the side of the man's neck who was standing in front of her. There was also another man sneaking up behind her and another one coming from the right side.

The man behind her lurched for Nikki, knocking into her and sandwiching her between the man she just injected and the man that attacked her. The man was clawing at her back, trying to tear her apart it seemed while the third lunged for the group, slamming them all into the opposite wall. One of them was unconscious and simply slumped to the floor, but the other two were well-trained marines with lots of vigorous muscle underneath the inhuman strength of the chemical.

Right before the man who was trying to claw into her snapped her neck, John lunged forward, slamming into the marine who'd pinned the other them to the wall. He reached for one of the needles and quickly jammed it into his neck, releasing the chemical into his system. A moment later, his body slumped underneath the Colonel. He didn't waste time and was instantly on his feet and spinning towards Nikki and the other conscious marine.

The marine had Nikki's arms pinned beside her, she was helpless and she knew it. The man was too powerful with the chemical running through his system for her to be able to do anything. She was strong, but she was no match for inhuman strength wrapped in a marine.

He ran up behind them, rammed a new needle into the side of the marine's neck, and watched as he went down without a fight.

He looked up at Nikki who just stood there speechless. "Are you okay?" She nodded and looked down at the man lying on the floor. "Thanks. He almost killed me."

"Nah, I wouldn't let that happen."

She looked up and saw the blood running down the Colonel's neck from where the woman had biten him. She moved towards him and grabbed one of the bandages from her tact vest. "Here, hold still. You're bleeding."

"I am?"

He reached up to his neck, and sure enough there was blood. He'd completely forgotten about the woman biting him with everything that had happened afterwards. He stood there as she pressed the bandage to his neck, wrapped it around his neck, and fastened it to keep it on. "There. That should do until we're done and Dr. Beckett can get you patched up."

"Now it's my turn to thank you." She smiled up at him and nodded, her hands still resting on either side of his neck from securing the bandage. "Why yes, yes it is." He smiled and they just stood there for a few moments just staring at each other smiling, forgetting about what was going on around them.

And then Rodney's voice came over the radio, making both of them jump, "Sheppard? Teagan? Hello!"

They both jumped apart slightly and John reached down to clicked his radio. "We're fine, McKay. We got all three of them. Two left. We'll go after the one closest to us. You got the last one?"

McKay snorted. "Yeah. Sure. Why not. Let's just get this over with so I can take a nice long nap and eat a club sandwich that has my name on it." John rolled his eyes and looked down at his sensor. The other one was one level down.

They made their way down there quickly and quietly. Nikki went for one side while he went for the other. She accidentally stepped on something and it broke, making a loud, echoing noise in the room. The woman stopped and turned in her direction, then slowly moved towards her location. John jumped out from behind the crates he was hiding behind and stabbed the needle into her neck. Right as she dropped to the floor, Rodney radioed them saying he was done.

They made it back to the infirmary and told Beckett where all the people had dropped so his med teams could go find them. He waved off Carson's inquiries about his neck and quickly left the infirmary when he was distracted with something. He and Nikki made their way to the mess hall and informed everyone it was safe and that the threat had been eliminated.

Mass cheering went up in the mess hall and he sank down into a chair, exhausted. Nikki joined him and soon the rest of the team did as well. Elizabeth walked over to their group. "Nice work, you two.

He shared a look with Nikki before looking up at her. "Thanks. So, Elizabeth. When do I get that beer?"

**If you read the original version of Triple Threat, I will be adding in more chapters that NO ONE has read before. I feel as if there wasn't enough information about the relationship between our favorite flyboy and our kick-ass doctor. What do you think?**


	3. Melissa Stevens

**A/N: Of course, I do not own SGA. That's enough to kill a mood.**

**So...I am very sorry about not posting in a while. I've been going back and forth between ideas. I have the next two chapters mostly written already. I wrote chapter 5 first, although it's not completely done, but almost! Then I started on chapter 4. It's about...halfway done, but there are some major things happening in it and it's a long chapter...so that takes time. I should have it up soon though! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

John walked into the mess hall as he did every morning after his run with Ronon. They had gone their separate ways fifteen minutes ago to shower, change, and then meet back up for breakfast.

He made his way through the line, getting a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee, as was usual. He immediately spotting his table full of their usual people: Teyla, Ronon, Nikki, and Rodney. John sighed inwardly as he noticed that one person in particular wasn't sitting at the table: Melissa.

They'd started dating a month and a half ago when she had gotten up the courage and asked him to have dinner with her. He hadn't seen the harm in it, so he'd agreed. They'd had a good time, so he figured he might as well get back into the game and enjoy himself for once. He'd asked her on a second date, a third, and then a fourth. They'd been officially together for about three weeks now and the gossip mill was still buzzing about it.

It turns out that no one had expected the CMO to start dating, ever.

Melissa Stevens was a very nice girl. She was bright, talented, and funny. She laughed at his lame jokes and made him smile. They hadn't been together for that long, but already he was starting to care for her.

There was just one problem with the situation. Well, make that four problems. She had confided in him the night before that she wasn't particularly fond of his friends, none of them. She found Ronon intimidating and she was scared of him. Teyla was too calm and serene for her. Rodney was far too obnoxious and he was her boss, which John understood her reasons behind that one. It was hard to be able to stand Rodney for long. It took a special kind of person, he supposed. And then, there was Nikki. Melissa had accused him of sleeping with her, which wasn't true. He'd never cheat on anyone. And besides, Nikki was his friend.

John was torn. He didn't know what to do about the situation. He couldn't make her sit with his friends and be unhappy the entire time and he couldn't ditch his friends for some girl. Neither situation was right, and yet here he was, stuck in the middle.

_This is why I don't date, _he thought to himself.

Melissa wasn't in the mess hall yet, so he didn't have that big of a decision to make yet. He sat down in his usual spot next to Nikki and across from Ronon. They greeted him good morning and he smiled back in return.

The group continued on with their conversations while John sat silent, eating his cereal and wondering what his next move would be. He liked Melissa. He really did, but was she really worth risking his friendships to be with her?

No, she wasn't. These people had been his family since he'd met them basically. It hadn't taken long with any of them to form deep bonds, even with Rodney. That's what made his decision for him.

There'd be another girl, another woman, but his family was everything to him and he just couldn't risk losing any one of them, not for a girl.

He knew it'd hurt and it'd be hard to do, but he had to do it. It'd hurt like a bitch, really. He was starting to really care for Melissa, not to mention she was the first girl he'd dating since his divorce.

He stood abruptly, startling his friends out of their conversations, and made his way out of the mess hall. He knew that if he put it off, he'd never do it. He had to do it now while he still had the nerve.

John walked through the many hallways towards her quarters. It didn't take very long to get there, he knew the way by heart by that point. He'd been there plenty of times to pick her up for dates or just to walk with her to her lab or to the mess hall.

He rang the chime on the door and waited. There was no answer. His brow furrowed and he tried the chime again. After a long moment, the door slid open to reveal Melissa standing in her robe, her hair slightly a mess as if she'd just gotten up.

"John! What a surprise! What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk. Did I wake you up?"

She glanced back towards her unmade bed and nodded, "Yeah, I overslept. I didn't hear my alarm. Late night in the lab last night."

He nodded, his spidey senses starting to tingle and alert him that something wasn't right. "Melissa, we need to talk."

She nodded, "Yeah, okay. Um, can it wait a little bit? I mean, I'm running late since I overslept and I'm supposed to be in the lab working. You know McKay. He'll have my head."

"I'll tell Rodney it was my fault. Mel, we really need to talk."

She glanced at her bathroom door for the briefest moment, but he caught it. "Okay, but just real quick. We're working on something exciting and I want to get back to it."

He stepped into her room and caught the smell of something. He didn't react to it, keeping his eyes open for signs as to what was going on.

They walked over to her couch and sat down. "So, what's up, John?"

He took a deep breath to try to steady his nerves. He was never good with things like this. "Mel, I don't…I've been thinking…"

He trailed off as he caught sight of a condom wrapper on the floor by her bed. It looked like someone had tried to shove it under the bed, but hadn't done a good enough job of it. And that's when he knew what that smell had been. It was a man's cologne.

In the time that they had been together, they hadn't made it to the stage where they slept together yet. The farthest they'd gone was a make-out session that had only lasted ten minutes before he'd been called away.

John didn't wear cologne, so it wasn't his. His eyes narrowed and he stood up. He walked over to the edge of the bed, bent over, and picked it up. He stared at it for a moment, letting it really sink in that he wasn't seeing things.

He turned around and walked into the bathroom and found one of the scientists sitting on the edge of the tub, half naked. The man looked up at him frightened, his mouth open in shock.

John turned around and glared at Melissa. "You're kidding me, right?"

She jumped up from the couch and moved over to him. "John, it's not what you think!"

"It's not what I think?! Really? You're going with that? Then why is there a condom wrapper when we've never slept together? Or how about the half-naked man in your bathroom? Care to explain that one?"

She stomped her foot and clenched her fists. "It's none of your business!"

He stared at her for a moment in shock. "None of my business? Melissa, I'm your boyfriend and you're sleeping with another man. Like hell it's none of my business!"

Her resolve broke. Apparently, she'd expected that to work. "John, baby, please! I'm sorry! Please forgive me! It'll never happen again!"

He shook his head at her, "No, it won't. Because I'm breaking up with you. That's what I came here to do anyway and you just reinforced my decision."

He started making his way towards the door when she stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "John, please, don't do this!"

He shook his head, "Even if I hadn't been planning on breaking up with you, there's no way in hell I'd stay with you after this. You lost all trust I had for you and you'll probably never get it back. Melissa, I suggest you get out of my way."

"You won't hurt me."

"No, I won't. But I do know a female scientist and an Athosian leader who probably wouldn't hesitate and would be here in minutes if I asked."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Fine. Go ahead and call them. They won't do anything. They're not brave enough. Dr. Weir will kick them out of the city if they harm a civilian."

He shook his head, "I'm not calling going to call them here just because you're being immature about this."

"Fine. I will then." She reached up and hit her com. "Dr. Nikki Teagan and Teyla Emmagan, this is Melissa Stevens. Can you please come to my quarters immediately? The Colonel is being unreasonable." She clicked off her com, not waiting for a response.

"Unreasonable? You think I'm being unreasonable?"

She smirked at him, her mood changes were starting to give him whiplash. "Yes, and that is what I'll tell Dr. Beckett. I'll tell him you're delusional and are making things up. That something is wrong with you."

She turned towards the bathroom. "Babe, might want to get out of here before people show up!"

The man walked out of the bathroom and quickly searched for his clothes. John glared down at Melissa. "You really think that Carson and everyone else are going to believe your word over mine? Who do you think you are?"

She smiled wickedly at him, "I think I'm your worst nightmare."

"No, more like someone who needs to be locked up in a padded room with a straight jacket."

The man had found his clothes and was quickly getting dressed when Nikki and Teyla arrived. Nikki hadn't bothered with the chimes and had slid it open, revealing the scene in front of them.

John looked down at Melissa. "Looks like your plan failed there. What's your excuse going to be this time? I held you captive?"

She turned her angry eyes towards him, "You're just upset that you can't have me!"

A smile of his own graced his face, but it wasn't a normal smile. "You really think I want you after all of this?"

Teyla's voice made him look up at them. "John, what is going on?"

"I walked in to find her cheating on me. Then after I broke up with her and tried to leave, she blocked my way to the door. She said I wouldn't hurt her, which is true, but I said I know two women who wouldn't be too happy with the situation and could help me out. That's when she called you. She won't let me leave and she's trying to turn everything around on me."

Melissa looked up at him and took a step closer. "Well, if you had just done what boyfriends are supposed to do, none of this would have happened!"

He shook his head at her incredulously, "You're saying that if I had slept with you, you wouldn't have cheated on me. Nice, Melissa. Real classy."

Nikki walked over to the two of them to try to deflate the situation. She looked at Melissa and refrained from punching her. "I don't know who you think you are, but I suggest you back off, Melissa. Whatever you're trying to do isn't going to work. So, just take a step back and we'll figure this out like adults."

Melissa shook her head. "John is mine. He's not yours, Nikki. I know you want him, it's obvious by the way you two act with each other. I'm not blind, you know."

Nikki shook her head, "Melissa, we're just friends."

"Yeah, whatever. You're not getting him, bitch."

This turn in events left John with a headache. The change in moods and situations was making his head spin in circles. He was starting to conclude that she was bipolar and hadn't been treated for it yet.

Melissa raised her hand to hit Nikki, but Nikki was faster. She grabbed Melissa's arm, twisted it behind her back, and slammed her down onto the bed. Melissa kicked out her leg and knocked Nikki's knees out from under her, making her hit the ground. She swung out her elbow and it connected with Nikki's nose, causing blood to immediately gush from it.

Teyla raced forward as Melissa stood and prepared to deliver another blow. She grabbed her wrist, spun her around, and let her fist slam into her jaw. Her next blow was directed towards a pressure point and she applied the precise amount to make her lose consciousness.

As Melissa slipped to the floor, John bent down next to Nikki. He moved her head gently to face him and he inspected her injury to see how bad it was. "Broken nose. Here."

He grabbed the man's shirt that was still lying on the floor, pulled her hand away from her nose, and gently pressed the shirt against it. "We need to try and stop the bleeding."

He looked up at Teyla. "Radio for a med team." She nodded as he turned to look at the other scientist. "And you, you're not going anywhere, so have a seat where I can keep an eye on you."

He nodded, frantically, terrified from what he'd just witnessed.

John looked back at Nikki and lowered his voice. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I've had worse. What about you?"

He shook his head, "I wasn't the one in the fist fight."

Nikki rested her hand on his arm. "John, I saw the look in your eyes when we got here and I see the look in them now. I know how affected you are by this."

He lowered his eyes, but didn't say anything. He really didn't want to talk about it right at that moment.

She caught on and nodded, "We'll talk later."

He nodded, knowing he wouldn't be getting out of it. He looked up at the door as Ronon and Rodney appeared in the doorway.

"What are you guys doing here?"

McKay stepped into the room and looked from person to person, "When Teyla and Nikki got called away suddenly after you had mysteriously left, we got curious. We checked a couple other places before coming here. What…exactly happened here?"

John sighed, not really wanting to go back into the story. Nikki saw his reluctance and jumped in. "John caught Melissa cheating on him, he broke up with her, she went psycho. She thought calling us here would put us on her side or something, but was sorely mistaken. She tried attacking me, I caught her attack, but she got the upper hand and broke my nose. Then Teyla jumped in and knocked her out."

Rodney looked down at Melissa. "I always thought she needed a hug-me jacket."

Ronon grunted and glared at the scientist sitting on the opposite side of the room. "So, what are we doing with him, Shep?"

John looked up at his friend and saw the anger in his eyes. "We'll give him to Weir. Let her decide what do to him. Same with her."

He stood, Nikki following suit. He looked down at her, "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary."

She nodded, understanding that he didn't want to be there anymore, but didn't exactly want to be alone either. Ronon, Rodney, and Teyla could handle a terrified scientist and an unconscious bipolar one until the med team got there.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until Nikki broke the silence. "Don't take this the wrong way, John, but…I'm kind of glad you broke up with her."

He looked down at her, confused. "Why's that? Besides what happened back there."

"Well…none of us really liked her."

His eyes widened, "None of you liked her and you didn't say anything?"

Nikki shrugged, "It wasn't really our place to say anything. If you liked it, then we would put up with her. We always thought…she was a little psycho."

He chuckled, "Next time you think my girlfriend is psycho, please let me know."

Nikki nodded, "Deal."

They returned to silence for another minute before Nikki couldn't take it any longer. "So…can I ask what made you jump up and go to her quarters earlier?"

He stared ahead, but when he answered, his voice was quieter. "I was going to break up with her."

She looked up at him, puzzled. "Why? Did something…else…happen?"

He nodded, his mind going back to the previous night. "Last night we were talking. She said something that took me by surprise. I didn't know what to do at first, but this morning at breakfast I made a decision. I went to go break up with her before I changed my mind."

Nikki nodded, "Can I…ask what she said?"

John smiled gently at her, finding it amusing how curious she was about everything. "She said she didn't like any of my friends. Ronon was scary and intimidating, which I get. He is a bit intimidating at first, but really, he's a big softy. She said Teyla's too…calm and serene? Whatever that means. McKay is obnoxious and her boss. I get that. He can be very obnoxious and it'd be a little weird to hang out with your annoying boss off the clock with your boyfriend. And there's you."

Nikki looked up at him and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she prodded for more information. "What did she say about me?"

"She accused me of cheating on her with you. She said we're too close to just be friends and she didn't like it. I guess she felt threatened."

Nikki nodded, taking it in. "Well, that's understandable."

John looked down at her curiously, but waited for her to continue.

"Well, I am pretty intimidating. I mean, smart, funny, kick ass, beautiful…that's a lethal combination!"

John couldn't help the laugh that erupted from his chest. He hadn't been expecting that answer and it had actually helped ease his tension. He looked down at her with a smile he didn't think he'd be using for a while. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close.

"Thanks, Nikki."

"For what?"

"For kicking ass and…for being a good friend."

She smiled up at him as they continued towards the infirmary.

**So, what did you think? For those of you who have read Triple Threat, the first version, I wanted to add in some moments where you can really see the relationship between two of the characters growing. For those who have read it, you will understand what that means. For those of you who haven't, I don't like spoilers, so...that doesn't give much away, haha! Next chapter should be up soon. I hope you continue to read! ^.^**


	4. The Atlans

**A/N: Don't own any of the stargate characters or any of that. Just my own characters.**

**So...I am very sorry it took awhile to get this posted. It's such a long chapter...Yes, over 14,000 words. I'm shocked. It's the longest chapter I have ever written. Ever. But...the next chapter is practically written already. Just have to change up a couple minor details and finish up the ending and it is good to go! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

"So why did the Commanding Military Officer of Atlantis volunteer to go on a simple science mission with a flight time of ten hours?"

John smirked at the scientist currently sitting in the co-pilot's chair. Of course, he wasn't going to tell her the real reason he'd volunteered for such a simple mission.

"It was getting a little boring back in the city. Thought a nice change of scenery was in order. Plus, if something were to happen, you can rest assured that you're in good hands."

Dr. Nikki Teagan smiled. "What could possibly happen? All we're doing is going to check out a few asteroids."

John looked away from the HUD, towards Nikki. "That's what people say before something bad happens around here. Haven't you read any of the mission reports? Most of them happened after someone asked, 'What could possibly go wrong?'"

Nikki rolled her eyes. "I think we can make an exception in this case." She paused in her thinking, glancing sideways at the Colonel who had gone back to looking up at the HUD.

"But, like you said, we're in good hands. I mean, I don't know about you, but I can kick some ass if I need to."

A smile slowly spread across John's face as he shook his head. "So why are you going on this mission? I didn't think you got too excited about asteroids."

"These aren't just asteroids, Colonel. They're radioactive ones that are on a collision course with a planet surface. The mission is to figure out what kind of radiation they're emitting and see if there's any way to stop them or divert them somewhere else. Didn't you read the debrief?"

John grimaced, "I skimmed it."

Dr. Barden snorted as she rolled her eyes again, "Of course you did. You're lucky McKay isn't here. I'm a bit easier to get along with than him."

His grimace turned into a smirk. "ETA nine hours. Might wanna get comfortable, Doc. It's going to be a long drive."

**SGA**

"Are we there yet?"

John looked over at Nikki amused. "You're like a little kid, you know that?"

She smiled and ran a scan on her laptop. "But seriously, are we almost there? Bring up the HUD."

He brought up the HUD as asked and nodded. "Yep. We'll be there in about ten minutes. I'll radio Atlantis and let them know we'll be arriving. You never know if the radiation will cause interference or not."

She nodded as he brought up communications on the HUD and radioed back home.

"Atlantis, this is Jumper One. We'll be arriving at our destination in about ten minutes. Didn't want to risk the interference and having to double back after a long trip."

There was a moment of silence before Dr. Weir's voice came over the radio. "This is Weir. You made excellent time, Colonel. Seems you're actually arriving early. We weren't expecting to hear from you for another half hour."

John smirked in satisfaction, "Yeah, well, long drives tend to make you hit the gas a little harder."

They could hear a faint chuckle before she responded, "I hear you. Just glad you made it in one piece. Radio back when you've gathered the Intel you need. Atlantis base out."

"We need to get as close as possible to that asteroid, Colonel. You never know what diminutive amounts of radiation can be detected. Although, we want to stay far enough away we won't suffer any side effects from it."

Sheppard glanced back at Dr. Barden. "Side effects?"

The scientist looked up from his laptop and nodded, quite seriously. "Yes, there can be many effects from radiation depending on the kind. Some can be nausea, fatigue, hair loss, low blood count…it can even cause sterility. Although, I don't plan on having any kids. What about you, Colonel?"

Nikki snorted as John fidgeted slightly in his seat. "Maybe someday. What about you, Dr.? Any plans for little ones in your future?"

Nikki raised an eyebrow and looked over at him, "Nope. I've never seen myself as the type to be able to settle down and raise a family. I mean, if I found the right guy…there's always the possibility, I suppose, but I don't see myself as being the motherly type, I guess."

Sheppard brought up the course on the HUD and studied the best path around the asteroids to take without getting too close. He didn't want anything reacting badly with the jumper's systems and causing any malfunctions.

As they neared their destination, John spotted something off in the distance, on the other side of the asteroid. He silently sent a thought and brought it up on the HUD.

"There's a ship on the other side. It doesn't look like Wraith. I didn't know this planet was populated."

Nikki looked up from her laptop, her eyebrows furrowing. "In the Ancient database, it said there was a small group of people, nowhere near technologically sound. They were somewhere in the stage of inventing the wheel from what I grasped."

"Well, a lot can happen in ten thousand years. That, or these people are from somewhere else and are just as interested in the asteroids as we are. Either way, let's keep a safe distance."

"Agreed."

John raised the cloak around the jumper, but it was too late. The ship had moved, sensing another ship in the vicinity and has seen them cloak. The communications were activated causing John and Nikki to share a quick look before he responded.

"This is Lt. Colonel John Sheppard from Atlantis."

There was a pause before the radio crackled and a hard man's voice resonated through the cockpit of the jumper.

"This is Fateem of the Atlans. We ask that you lower the cloak so as to communicate without privacy."

John's spidey senses were starting to tingle, but he lowered the cloak as asked. He turned towards Nikki and mouthed, "_Atlans?"_

She shrugged, knowing as much as he did about the people. He turned back to the communications and spoke into the radio. "What can we do for you, Ms. Fateem?"

"You are not welcome here. I suggest you turn around and go back to where you came from immediately."

"We didn't mean to cause insult. We were just checking out the asteroi-."

"It would be wise for you to turn around now or we will be forced to destroy you."

John's spidey senses were on overdrive as he began to turn the ship around. "As you wish, sorry for the confusion. We'll get out of your way now."

As he was raising the shield, an energy burst hit the side of the jumper, damaging the cloak. "I asked that you remain uncloaked. We see this as an act of war. You will be destroyed. We will no longer bow down and remain silent. You have been warned. And now it is your time to die."

The radio shut off as John shook his head. "Not on my watch."

He glanced over at Nikki for the quickest second, "See, this is what happens when people ask what could possibly happen."

Another energy blast blew by the jumper, causing it to shake violently. "Any way to switch the cloak into a shield really quick? We could really use one."

Nikki shook her head, "It would take too long. And besides, the cloak is far too damaged to repair until we get back home."

"Noted." He engaged weapons and sent off two drones. Nikki watched on the HUD as the drones made their mark on the ship, but didn't do much damage.

"How…those are some of the most powerful weapons I have ever seen and they hardly scratched that thing. Colonel, we are in big trouble."

Another blast hit the jumper, almost knocking one of the wings off. He opened up communications as he sent off more drones. "Atlantis, this is jumper one. We are taking fire. I repeat, we are taking fire! We require immediate assistance!"

The jumper started banking towards the right, straight for the planet's surface. Nikki jumped in to help relay information so the Colonel could concentrate. "We're on a collision course with the planet. They aren't Wraith, they're inhabitants from the planet. Do _not _engage!"

Another blast hit the jumper, sending Nikki into the side of the wall. She righted herself and continued, "Use the cloak at all times. Do _not _let them see you!"

John barely skirted out of the way of another blast, "I'm losing controls. This is going to be a rough landing, so everybody hang on."

Another blast hit the rear of the jumper, almost tearing off the hatch, but it remained intact. "We just lost inertial dampeners. There's no way we're going to survive this landing, Colonel."

John tilted his head towards her, but remained focused on where he was going. "That's a lake. I'm aiming for that. I hope you know how to swim."

The radio was still active, transmitting back to Atlantis, but they hadn't received it yet. Nikki knew it was because of the radiation and quickly calculated that they would receive it in a matter of minutes after they landed.

"Atlantis, we're about to go down. This transmission will be delayed due to the radiation, but you should receive it only minutes after we land. These people are called the Atlans. Have Rodney dig something up on them."

"I just lost all controls! Hang on!"

**SGA**

Teyla, Ronon, Rodney, and Evan Lorne walked into the control room at the same time and found Dr. Weir standing by one of the consoles. She looked up as they walked in and they all noticed the look of worry on her face.

When they got closer, she began. "I'm sure you all are aware that Colonel Sheppard accompanied Dr. Teagan and another scientist on a mission to study some asteroids that are giving off radiation?"

They all nodded and she continued, "We received a transmission from them saying they were ten minutes out and that everything was fine. That was nearly half an hour ago. A few minutes ago, we received another transmission. This one was delayed and we didn't receive it until minutes after it had been sent."

She looked down at Chuck and nodded for him to play it back for them to hear.

The radio crackled for a moment before the Colonel's voice filled the room. His voice was raised and the tension rang clear. It was obvious as soon as they heard his voice that something was very wrong. "Atlantis, this is jumper one. We are taking fire. I repeat, we are taking fire! We require immediate assistance!"

There was a moment of silence before Nikki's voice replaced the Colonel's. "We're on a collision course with the planet. They aren't Wraith, they're inhabitants from the planet. Do _not _engage!"

The sound of a blast filled the silence. "Use the cloak at all times. Do _not _let them see you!"

John's voice came back over the radio, but this time he couldn't stop an edge of panic from seeping into his voice. "I'm losing controls. This is going to be a rough landing, so everybody hang on." Another blast echoed back through the transmission.

"We just lost inertial dampeners. There's no way we're going to survive this landing, Colonel."

John's voice came back distracted, obviously concentrating on aiming for his target. "That's a lake. I'm aiming for that. I hope you know how to swim."

"Atlantis, we're about to go down. This transmission will be delayed due to the radiation, but you should receive it only minutes after we land. These people are called the Atlans. Have Rodney dig something up on them."

"I just lost all controls! Hang on!"

The line went dead almost immediately after John's rushed statement.

The control room was silent for a long moment while the reality of the situation hit everyone like a steel hammer. Their friend and colleague just went down into a lake with no inertial dampeners and he was ten hours away by jumper. This was not good.

Ronon was the first to break the silence, "When do we leave?"

"Gear up and you leave as soon as you're ready. I want Lorne's team along with the four of you to go."

Lorne nodded, radioing his team to get geared up to go ASAP. Elizabeth looked at Teyla before they turned to head to the locker rooms. "Bring them back."

Teyla nodded, determined to get John and the rest in that jumper back home safe and sound.

**SGA**

Nikki opened her eyes and all she saw was blue in front of her. They had landed in the lake. She lifted her head and looked over at the pilot's chair and found John slumped forward unconscious.

She stood and reached over to check for a pulse. When she found one, she gently started to shake him awake.

"Colonel, you have to wake up. We need to get out of here."

He slowly started to stir and she went on to check to see if Dr. Barden was okay. She found a pulse, but he had a head injury. He woke up after a few moments looking dazed.

She stood and walked back to the Colonel who had managed to sit up. He turned towards her and she saw he also had a head injury, but that wasn't surprising given they had just crash landed into a lake with no inertial dampeners. She was thanking her lucky stars no more damage had happened to any of them.

"Colonel, we need to get out of here before we sink any farther."

He nodded, standing up and moving to pack a couple of extra things into his tact vest before they went for their swim. He handed a couple of extra clips to Nikki. "We won't be able to take the p-90's, they'll weigh us down and we won't be able to swim with them, so we'll have to rely on our side arms."

She nodded, grabbing a couple of extra clips and handing them to Dr. Barden who accepted them and stowed them away safely.

"Okay, I think we're as ready as we'll ever be."

He nodded and moved to the lever to lower the hatch. "When I lower this, a lot of water's going to come rushing in here and fast. Be sure to hold your breath before it hits you and hold on to something so you don't get slammed into anything. As soon as you can move, go. Don't wait for anyone else, just get yourself out of here. Is that clear?"

Both of the scientists nodded, grabbing onto something sturdy. They watched as he grabbed onto a bar near the lever, took a deep breath, and pulled it.

Water came rushing in immediately and flooded both compartments. John was slammed against the wall, but had enough purchase not to be swept back into the front of the jumper. He pushed off from the wall and started swimming out of the jumper and up towards the surface. They weren't too far down, maybe one hundred feet or so. He made it up to the surface and took in a deep breath of air. He looked around and didn't see anyone else emerge from the water, so he took in a big gulp of air and dove back under.

He saw Nikki a little ways from him trying to swim back towards Dr. Barden who was unconscious and falling back through the water. He'd seen it plenty of times before to know that they were already too late. There was too much water in his lungs by that point and they didn't have a hard flat surface to lay him on to try to pump out the water. There was nothing they could do for the scientist but try to survive and hope none of it happened in vain.

He reached Nikki fairly quickly and grabbed her arm. She twisted around to look at him and he shook his head, conveying to her that it was too late. Her eyes widened in regret, but accepted it. They turned back and started heading back up to the surface.

By this point, Nikki was too far down and had been holding her breath for too long. As her lungs started to burn uncontrollably, she pulled on John's arm, panicked.

He saw the look in her eyes and knew what was happening. He pulled her up to him and, without thinking too hard on it, pressed his mouth to hers, opened her mouth as far as he dared and gave her some of his air. She didn't need a whole lot, just enough to get her to the surface.

When they broke apart, they didn't waste any time and went straight up towards the surface. When they broke the surface, they both took in deep breaths trying to regain themselves. John recovered first and looked around for the closest point to shore.

"Okay, let's go that way. It's the shortest distance to shore. Once there we'll find cover in case they come looking for us."

She nodded and started heading towards shore. They swam in silence, both trying to keep their breathing as normal as possible and concentrated on making it to shore before they both drowned from exhaustion.

It didn't take very long for them to reach the shore, but when they did their muscles ached horribly.

"Okay, five minute break. Then we find shelter to wait out the…I'd say we're down to nine hours by now. Give or take a few minutes."

Nikki nodded as she laid back on the sand, draping an arm over her eyes and thanking her lucky stars that the sun was up high in the sky. It was making good work of drying their clothes and warming them up from the cold water.

John looked over at her and could tell by how tense she was that she was blaming herself. He'd been in the same situation plenty of times to know the signs. "Don't."

She moved her arm to rest on her forehead and turned to look at him. "What?"

He lowered his head as he sat, knees bent and arms resting on them. "Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault he didn't make it. If you want to blame someone, blame the people who shot us out of the sky."

She stared at him for a long minute, not saying a word. "How do you do it?"

He raised his eyes and met her gaze. "Do what?"

"How do you deal with it? I know you've lost a lot of people under your command and I know it can't be easy. How do you cope?"

John took a minute to think it over. "I make sure it wasn't in vain."

"How do we do that?"

"We survive and we go home. We tell his loved ones he didn't die alone and that he didn't suffer, that is was a quick death. Even if we have to lie, that's easier than knowing the truth. We don't let his memory die and we don't die ourselves. That's how we do it."

She nodded, sitting up and moving closer to him. She shivered from the cold, she could still feel it deep in her bones from being in the water so long. He saw her shiver again and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her into him. He figured they were both cold, so might as well try to warm up a bit. That, and he thought it might help her deal with the loss if she had someone to lean on, both metaphorically and literally.

She leaned into his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks."

He glanced down at her, "For what?"

"For, you know, not dying. And saving both our asses. Saving mine back in the water. For the warmth. And…you know…for what you said."

He smiled gently down at her, but she didn't see it. She was staring out at the water that had almost killed them all. "Don't thank me yet. I don't think I'm done saving our asses."

She looked up at him, her brow furrowed. "Do you think they'll come looking for us? Think we may have survived and want to finish the job?"

"Maybe. You never know. Two minutes we'll look up for shelter. For now, try to get warm and conserve your energy. You'll need it."

**SGA**

Ronon paced the small confined area in the cockpit of jumper two. He was getting restless. They'd only been in the air for a short time and already he couldn't sit still. He couldn't stand the thought of the man he considered a brother out there, possibly dead, after being attacked. He hadn't been there to help him. A part of him knew there wasn't anything he could have done. Sheppard was a pilot, the best pilot they had.

It'd been up to him to get his team to safety and if he couldn't do it, no one could. Ronon knew that, but the fighter in him told him that he still could have been there for his friend. It told him that if Sheppard was dead, he should have been there to die with him, not find his broken body and mourn the loss. He'd done enough mourning in his years to last an entire lifetime and several more. He'd had to mourn the loss of all of his fallen brothers and sisters, all of his friends, colleagues, everyone under his command, his family, Melena, his entire planet. Sure, he later found out that many had lived, but he'd still had to live with the thought they were dead for years.

If his friend was dead, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he'd stay in Atlantis, continuing his day-to-day routine, knowing his friend, the man who'd helped to save him from the Wraith countless times, the one who'd brought him back to Atlantis and given him a new purpose, given him a home and a family. If that man was never coming back…Atlantis wasn't much of a home anymore. Not without John Sheppard.

He looked over at Teyla who was sitting still, staring out the window into space, deep in thought.

Her mind was trained on one thing: Is John alive?

She kept running through possibilities in her mind, trying to reassure herself that John can't be dead. He'd come back from the most impossible situations alive and kicking. There was no way he wouldn't come back from this one.

This was the man who had befriended her all those years ago in her village. She hadn't known what to think about the others, but he had been so open and honest with her that she had had no doubt in her mind that he was a good ally and a good person.

She had stood by his side through countless fights, countless situations that seemed impossible to overcome. They had learned from each other and grown as individuals together, building a bond so unique she'd never seen it before until she met this man. He was a brother to her, nothing more, but a brother she cared deeply for. She couldn't imagine how life would be if he hadn't stepped through the gate that day and introduced himself to her.

Through all the times she had felt lost and hadn't known what to do, she had turned to him for guidance and he had given it to her. She knew sometimes he had no idea what to do, but that's when he would turn to her as well. They trusted each other explicitly and had each other's backs no matter what. Who would she turn to if they were unable to bring him back this time?

She was broken out of her spell by the sound of Rodney furiously typing away at his laptop. He was searching through every inch of the database, trying to find anything helpful on the people who had shot down their friend. She considered saying something, but figured it would be best to leave him be.

Rodney glared at his laptop screen, yelling at it inside his mind to give them something, _anything_, that would help them get his friends back. He always acted like he didn't care much for anyone around him, but that wasn't true. He just didn't want it to show. He knew that Sheppard knew, but that's as far as it went. They never really acknowledged it and that's the way both men liked it.

Rodney thought back to all the times when the military would shut him out and only include him when it was almost too late to do anything. That had changed when he'd met John Sheppard. When they'd met, he'd been a major, but he'd included him with the entire process. He hadn't left him out in the metaphoric cold to wonder what was going on.

And then John had asked him to join his team. He'd said he needed a scientist to go with them on their missions, just in case they ran across something, but the truth was…they had already started to become friends and John had wanted him on the team.

Everyone knew that Sheppard hadn't arrived in the city with many allies. Really, he had had maybe…two? Three at the most. He had found a friend in Rodney and that had meant a lot to the scientist, even if he would never admit it to anyone.

Truth was, McKay wasn't sure if Atlantis could thrive without the Colonel there. He was an integral part of the expedition and a friend to many. The entire city would mourn his loss if they were unable to bring him back. His death would cause major problems, there was no doubt about that.

The thing was, it wasn't just John who had arrived in the city without many friends. He had been in the same situation. He'd had as many as Sheppard had had at the time. When he'd befriended the flyboy, he'd also been rewarded with the friendship of Teyla and Lt. Ford. A year later, he'd befriended Ronon as well. With John Sheppard came new opportunities, new friendships, and a good life.

Rodney grumbled to himself. _I'm starting to get soft thanks to Captain Kirk. Thanks a lot, Sheppard._

He rubbed a hand over his forehead, trying and failing to rub away the headache that was growing ever present in his head.

Major Evan Lorne looked over from the pilot's seat and watched Dr. McKay work for a moment. He could see the worry lines on his forehead and beginnings of a nasty headache, which would be sure to make him even more irritable than usual.

Evan sighed as he looked back out the window. He tried to relax, knowing that he'd need all of his strength and energy when they finally reached the planet. If Sheppard had survived, chances are the people who attacked them were aware of it and planned on completing the task. Evan was completely confident in his commanding officer's ability to protect himself and survive on his own for a while, not to mention he had possibly two others with him, depending if any of them survived the crash.

Evan wasn't really the kind of man to send up prayers or believe in that kind of stuff, but with his commanding officer's life, his _friend's_ life, on the line in such a big way…he sent up a silent prayer that they get there on time.

It wasn't just that with Sheppard gone, he'd have to step up and fill his shoes. That task alone was an impossible task. There was no one who could replace John Sheppard. He was a truly unique and inspiring leader, one who had earned the respect of everyone under his command in a short amount of time. No one even glanced at his record anymore. The only record that counted was the number of lives he'd helped to save since setting foot in the Pegasus galaxy.

Sheppard had become more than just a commanding officer to Evan. He'd become a friend. Every time something had happened off-world, it was Sheppard and his team who would come to their rescue. Every time Evan landed himself a bed in the infirmary, Sheppard had made a point to stop in and spend some time with this second in command. When the new shipment of beer came in, the two of them would get together with their teams and have a conjoined sort of party, relax, unwind after long events in the day or week. They would get together and watch old football re-runs. They'd have movie nights, sometimes with their teams, and sometimes just the two of them.

The two men had really bonded since John had picked him to be his second in command. Evan didn't have any brothers, but if he did, he'd say his name is John Sheppard. And that fact alone drove him even harder to get back his friend.

**SGA**

"Where the hell did they even come from?"

John kept his eyes on their surroundings, looking for hiding places or traps to trip up the group of Atlans that were currently chasing them through the forest.

"I have no idea, but they're gaining on us. We're going to have to figure something out soon or we'll be in big trouble."

Nikki threw a glance behind her, measuring the distance between them and their followers. "There aren't many. Think we can take them with our side arms?"

John thought it over for a quick moment. "That'll use up most or all of our limited ammunition. I'd like to hold off on using it all up as long as possible. Any other ideas?"

He took a quick turn to the left, pulling Nikki along with him. As soon as they'd realized there was a group of the Atlans running towards them, John had jumped up, grabbed Nikki's hand, and took off towards the forest. That had been a good ten minutes ago and he still had a firm grasp on her hand to make sure they didn't get split up somehow.

"Um…it's a forest. There aren't many options other than shoot or hide."

John nodded, throwing a glance behind him. When he turned back he noticed the tree line stopped not too far up ahead. He slowed their pace and approached cautiously. It was a dead-end. The ground broke off and dropped a ways before continuing through forest.

Nikki shook her head, "Now what do we do? That's too steep to climb down."

He looked around for anything, any way around the drop, any hiding places, but the only thing he could come up with was to hide behind the trunk of a massive tree.

He pulled her towards the tree and crouched down on the other side. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, wondering what he was supposed to do now. They could use their side arms and use up all of their bullets and be helpless when the next group of these people found them, they could let them kill them, or they could jump off the incline and hope like hell they survived.

"John, what do we do now?"

He turned and looked into her worried eyes. This was her first mission where something had gone completely sideways. Sure, she'd been raised by a military father, but she had never been in a war zone before. This was new territory for her.

Suddenly, John got an idea. "I have an idea, but you may not like it depending on the outcome."

He was about to tell her the plan when they heard the group approaching their location. She crouched closer to him and remained as still and silent as possible.

John listened intently, trying to make out if they were coming towards them or backtracking. He heard one pair of footsteps going towards the edge of the drop off before he felt Nikki's hand clench in his. He turned to look at her and saw a woman standing behind her with a gun pointed at her head.

He looked up at her and bit off the angry remark he wanted so badly to say. Instead, he remained as still as he could, waiting for the woman with the gun to give him some kind of instructions.

"Stand up or she dies." Like that.

He released her hand and stood slowly, keeping his hands in the air to show he didn't intend on making any sudden movements.

"You too. Stand up and move around the tree." They did as they were told. What else could they do?

When they walked around the tree, they saw five other women with guns staring them down.

"Well, nice of you to join the party."

The woman walking behind them shoved Nikki into John, silently telling him to shut his mouth. He took in the women around them, every piece of Intel was crucial to survive.

Only three of the women had their guns pointed at them. The one that had found them walked around to stand with her buddies as their radios buzzed.

"Elta respond. This is Japu, you have them yet?"

The one named Elta lowered his weapon and turned on his radio. "Yes, Japu. We just captured them."

The other two holding weapons on them turned towards Elta, curious to see what their orders were next. This was their opportunity. Sheppard was shocked they were stupid enough to lower their weapons and look away from them.

Before any of them could see what he was doing, he reached into his vest, pulled out one of his hand grenades, pulled the pin, and let it fly. He grabbed Nikki's arm and flung them away from the explosion that would happen in five…four…three…two…they were falling over the side of the incline as the explosion shook the ground and tore apart every one of the women that had been following them.

John wrapped his arms tightly around Nikki's waist, securing her to him and did his best to angle them so that she landed on him and not the other way around. Thankfully, it wasn't a straight drop from the top. John's body made contact with the rocks, causing them to roll a couple of times before there was another gap.

They finally landed at the bottom with Nikki on top of him. The last thought that went through his mind was he was glad he hadn't landed on her. Then his world went dark.

**SGA**

"Oh no. This…this isn't good."

Teyla looked over at Rodney who was frowning at his laptop. "What is it, Rodney? Have you found something?"

He turned and looked at her, "You could say that." He turned again and looked at Lorne.

"Radio Atlantis. I need to talk to Elizabeth about this."

Lorne brought communications up and radioed back home. "Atlantis, this is jumper two. It seems Dr. McKay has found something in the database."

After a pause, Elizabeth's voice came over the radio. "That's good! What is it?"

Rodney shook his head, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Actually, Elizabeth, it's not. You see, if I'm reading this correctly…I just found out why these people, the Atlans, attacked the jumper. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Okay. What did you find?"

He looked back down at his laptop before continuing. "Back when the Ancients were still in Atlantis, a hundred years or so before they left. I'm talking pre-Wraith. There was a group of scientists who went against the board. And I don't mean Janus. Janus was against this. This group…they brought a small group of people to the city and…performed experiments on them."

Rodney paused a moment for that to sink in before continuing, "Now, it doesn't say in the database what _kinds _of experiments, probably for the sake of making themselves look better or something, who really knows-."

"_Rodney!_ What else did you find?"

"Right. This group of people hid the experiments from the board for as long as they could, but eventually they were found out. When the board found out what the group was doing, well sufficed to say they were not happy. At first, they weren't sure what to do with the people. They couldn't exactly just let them go so they could tell the galaxy how horrible the Ancients were and what they had done to them. That would ruin their reputation. Instead, they found a nice little planet out of the way that was uninhabited. They dropped off the people they experimented on, took their stargate, and went on their way. They left the people with nothing but the clothes on their backs."

Teyla leaned forward, "You're saying the Ancients left these people on the planet to die?"

Rodney's frown deepened. "It looks that way. But that's not all."

Dr. Weir's voice sounded over the radio, "There's more?"

"The more I read what was in the database…the more I remembered a myth. It was about a people back on Earth. It was said that these people were benevolent by comparison and inhabited complex caverns underneath Southern Brazil. They were called the Atlans. They got their name because they were supposedly part of the antediluvian Atlantean empire."

"The what?"

Rodney looked over at Ronon. "Antediluvian. It means extremely primitive, outdated, very very old. Anyways, the myth said the Atlans weren't genetically related to the Ancient society. It's also said that they're descended from Gods, or rather what these people probably thought were Gods at that time period which would be Ancients. They believe that their Gods would rather see them dead than prosperous."

"Yes, I remember reading about that. Agis, the leader; Bretta, his wife and the Goddess of Love, Fertility, and Health; Dyanna, Agis' sister and the Goddess of Forest and Beasts; and Crassus, God of War and Fire. Crassus forced himself on Bretta. Ashamed, Bretta concealed it from Agis, and then later laid with him as well. They travelled in a ship and were frozen in pods over time to prolong their lives. While Bretta was frozen, the genetic material from all three of them mixed together. She became pregnant with three daughters. One had Crassus' hair, Bretta's eyes, and Agis' birthmark. One had Bretta's hair, Agis' eyes, and Crassus' birthmark. One had Agis' hair, Crassus' eyes, and Bretta's birthmark. The daughters came from all three parents. Bretta told Dyanna to throw them into space so Agis would never know. Dyanna could not do that so she raised them on an island. When they were old enough to be able to survive, she left them on their own. When Bretta found out they were still alive, she called upon neighboring Gods to wreak havoc on their planet where many became ill or died from the molten rock. They were separated from each other over the seas where many more died. It's said that there are still Atlans roaming Earth looking for sisters they lost during that time."

Rodney's brow furrowed. "Sisters? What about brothers? There have to be men in this…culture. Otherwise, how else did their numbers grow? I'm sensing a strictly feminist society here. One in which I am not looking forward to meeting."

"Men weren't talked about in the stories I've heard of these people, but there have to be some in the society. As for meeting them, I hope none of you do."

Rodney nodded, "I agree."

"That's good work, Rodney. At least we know what we're up against now. I'll see if there's anything more I can dig up. For now, I suggest you start making a plan on how you should go about getting our people back. Radio back in when you're nearing the planet. And don't forget to use the cloak, Major."

Evan spoke up, "Yes, ma'am. I'll turn it on an hour before we get there just to be on the safe side."

"Good. Good luck to all of you. Atlantis base out."

Rodney turned towards the team. "So, what's the plan?"

**SGA**

Nikki slowly regained consciousness, but she didn't open her eyes all the way. She couldn't remember exactly where she was or what had happened, so she used her other senses first. She was laying on something hard, yet soft at the same time, and it was moving the slightest bit. There was something strong wrapped around her waist.

That's when it all came rushing back: the planet, the crash, the grenade, and the cliff. She opened her eyes and sat up the slightest bit. She was laying on top of John who was still unconscious from the fall. She felt for a pulse and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when she felt the steady beating of his heart under her fingers.

Nikki sat up all the way, gently lowering his arms to the ground on either side of him. She was about to try to take him up when she noticed his leg. He'd broken his leg in the fall. She moved closer to inspect it better. It was bad.

She'd have to reset it before it tried to heal itself and they had to rebreak it. She got in place, positioned her hands correctly, and then used as much force as she dared to push his leg back into the proper places.

The force and pain from the resetting woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He couldn't see Nikki since she was sitting by his leg, wrapping it in a bandage. That's when he noticed that his leg was being bandaged. He leaned up and put his weight onto his left elbow.

"What happened?"

Nikki looked up when she heard his voice and smiled. "Good, you're awake. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um…we were being chased through the forest by a group of women. Then I blew them up with a grenade. Not much after that."

She nodded, looking back down as she began to tie off the bandage. "You threw us out of the way of the explosion, but we toppled over the side of the cliff. You used your body to protect me from most of the rocks. In the process, your leg was broken and we were both knocked out. I woke up a few minutes ago."

John nodded, sitting up all the way and looking down at his broken leg. "Well, that's going to make things more difficult. Not to mention, it hurts like hell."

He looked around their surroundings, looking for any more groups of the Atlans, anything they could use as weapons, places for shelter, anything.

"We need to find some water and shelter. I meant to get some water before we left the lake, but didn't get the chance to before that group showed up."

Nikki nodded, "I agree. We need to find a safe place to rest. Maybe waste a couple of hours, buy your team some time to get here. I say we head off in that direction."

She pointed towards the west before standing and offering him her hand. He took it carefully raised himself from the ground, trying not to bump his injured leg and cause more pain to shoot up his leg. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders as she wrapped her right arm around his waist and grabbed his left hand for advantage.

"Sounds good to me."

They set off towards the west, hoping they would be able to find shelter and water soon. They both still had some power bars tucked away in their vests that would hold them over until the jumper arrived for them, so they weren't particularly worried about food.

They walked in silence for a while, just listening to their surroundings, before Nikki wanted conversation.

"So, John…got family back on Earth?"

He glanced down at her before looking back up at their surroundings. He made sure to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. "Kind of."

"Kind of? What does that mean?"

"A brother I haven't talked to in about a year. Before that, we hadn't talked since…I got my divorce."

"You were married?"

John chuckled lightly, "Yeah, I got married when I was nineteen."

Nikki was shocked that he'd been married before. He didn't really seem like the type to get married. "What happened?"

"Oh you know, the usual. She thought she knew what she was getting into, marrying an Air Force pilot. Then they started sending me on top secret missions around the world. When I would come home exhausted and wasn't able to tell her where I was or what I was doing, it'd just piss her off. We'd get into fights as soon as I walked through the door it seemed. After about six years, we both just got sick of it."

She nodded, "What about your brother? Why don't the two of you talk?"

John was silent for a long minute. "When we were kids, we were the best of friends. He was my little brother. We did everything together, except when he would spend time with our dad and I would spend time with our mom. They were married, but Dave was always curious about the family business and I was always more interested in whatever my mom was doing."

"So, then what happened? Why did you two grow apart?"

"Our mom died when I was fifteen. Dave was twelve. It hit the family hard. Dad pushed our mom's side of the family away, I didn't see them for about a year when I graduated from high school and went off to Stanford."

Nikki stopped walking and looked up at him. "Wait, you graduated from high school when you were sixteen and then went to Stanford?"

He looked down at her, his eyebrow raised, "Yeah. Why is everyone so surprised I have a brain?"

"I wouldn't say surprised, more…taken off guard. You don't show it off, but I guess I'm not that shocked. You come with a lot of surprises I'm finding."

He chuckled and continued his story as they started walking again. "Dave took it hard when I went off to college, but I didn't have anything keeping me there other than him. I knew he'd be okay with Dad since they got along great, so I left. I went and stayed with my uncle and his wife while I went to Stanford. A year after I started there, I joined the Air Force. I had my uncle sign for me so I could join earlier. Best decision I ever made. Dad and I fought every time we talked, so I started to stay away even more. I married Nancy when we were nineteen because…well, I thought I loved her. That, and Dad kept nagging me about it. I guess a part of me wanted to finally make him happy. Which it did, for a while. Then, all he wanted was to finally get grandkids. The last time I ever saw him was the day I told him I was getting a divorce. He told me to get out, so I did. I didn't hear anything from them until about a year ago when I got word that my dad had a heart attack and passed away. Ronon and I went back for the wake. Of course, Dave thought I was there to challenge the will. We got into a fight. I ended up having to leave to deal with some replicator business, but I went back when it was over. We talked, civilly. He said he'd write, he never did. I didn't push."

Nikki nodded, letting all of the information sink in. She knew that he was a private person and didn't talk about himself all that much. When he did, you better be paying attention because chances are, it won't happen again for a long time. When he decides to open up, you better be willing to be there or else he might not open up again.

"Okay, so then tell me about this ex-wife."

He looked down at Nikki with a smirk on his face. "Why are you so interested in my past?"

She shrugged, or as much as she could with his weight on her shoulders. "I'm just curious as to what else I don't know about the mysterious John Sheppard. You don't talk about yourself, so I figured now's as good a time as any considering your leg is broken and you need me to survive on this godforsaken planet."

His smile turned genuine. "I need you to survive? Who was it that saved your ass back there? How many times was it again?"

She rolled her eyes, but refrained from hitting him. "Oh shush. Now spill, mister. Or we'll be walking all day."

His smirk returned, "What would you like to know?"

"I don't know. Just…tell me about her. What's her name? When did you guys meet? Were you high school sweethearts? Childhood best friends turned lovers? What?"

He let out a soft laugh, "Her name's Nancy. We met when we were kids, always lived down the street from each other. We didn't become friends until…I think we were twelve. We started dating right before my mom died. A year later, right before I graduated, she moved away. Her dad got reassigned somewhere and she had to go with. She moved back about a year later and we started dating again, mostly long distance. I'd go see her every change I got. At nineteen, we got married. I moved back home and we got a place together. She was a sweet girl. Two or three years into our marriage, I started getting sent on classified missions. That's when everything went south. Somewhere in that time frame, she changed."

"Couldn't handle being alone most of the time?"

He nodded, "I think so. That, and she accused me of cheating on her."

She looked up at her friend, a glint in her eye. "What is it with women accusing you of cheating? Just like McKay's always calling you Kirk. What's up with that, anyway?"

John shook his head, "It's Rodney. He thinks I'm just like Captian Kirk when it comes to women."

"But, you're not."

"Thank you! Finally, someone gets it."

She chuckled and then pointed off into the distance. "There. I think I see a stream or river. Let's head in that direction."

They changed directions the slightest bit and started walking, or in Sheppard's case hopping, towards the river.

"So…enough about me. Let's talk about you. You don't talk about yourself that much either."

She nodded, "Yeah, well, I'm a pretty private person sometimes."

"I gathered. So am I. You made me spill. Now it's your turn."

She stayed silent for a moment before nodding once more, "Okay, what would you like to know?"

"Dirty little secrets are always fun."

She smiled and shook her head, "I don't know about those. Um…let's see. I'm from Texas, born and raised there. You obviously know about my brother. My mom and dad still live there on our ranch. I grew up working on it as well as practically being trained as if I was a soldier. Dad would always put us through these boot camps. It was horrible. At one point, I had wanted to join some branch of the military, but…growing up the way I did kind of…changed that. I also graduated early, same age as you. Got my degrees in astrophysics, physics, and mechanical engineering, same as Rodney. I also got a bachelor's degree in botany to shut my brother up. Got a degree in medical science to shut my parents up. None of them really understood why I wanted to learn about astrophysics. They all said it was a waste of time and I'd never make any real money from it. Not long after I graduated from college, I got asked to be a part of a big project that ended up being a breakthrough. A few projects later, I was contacted by the SGC. I worked for them for…six months before Alex was brought in for something. Six months after that, we were asked to come here."

John shook his head, "Am I the only one who didn't know about the program months before they were asked to join the expedition?"

Nikki glanced up at him, "How long did you know about it?"

"Oh, I'd say…a good ten minutes."

Nikki stopped in her tracks and looked at him properly. "You only knew about the program for ten minutes before you were asked?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I flew General O'Neill to the Ancient outpost from McMurdo. I outflew a drone on the way there, so he gave me security clearance. When we got down there, Beckett filled me in on some details, I sat down in the control chair, and…it came to life. He told me I have the gene, ran to get Weir, about…five minutes after that, give or take, Elizabeth asked me."

"Huh. I bet that was a tough decision. How did you decide what you were going to do?"

John smirked and started them walking again. "Coin flip. Heads I went, tails I stayed home."

Nikki snorted and shook her head, "Why am I not surprised?"

John smiled, "Anyways, we were talking about you, remember? Any ex-husbands on your list?"

It took her a moment to answer. "No, no ex-husbands. I never got that far. Some very unhappy ex-boyfriends though. They didn't seem to like their girlfriend being smarter than them. It's kind of hard to find a guy on my level, or one who isn't intimidating by it."

John nodded, "Understandable."

"Not to mention they probably didn't like the fact that I could kick their ass."

John's smile returned. "Actually, that probably wasn't the case. A lot of guys like that."

A laugh erupted from Nikki's chest. "Are you one of those guys, Colonel?"

His smile turned into a sly smirk as he looked down at her. "I'll leave that up to your imagination, Doctor."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. They arrived at the river a moment later. Nikki helped John sit down against a large boulder not too far from the edge of the river before walking over and filling up both of their canteens. She walked back over to him and sat down next to him, leaning against the boulder. She handed him one of the canteens, which he accepted graciously.

"Thanks."

She nodded and took a gulp from her own canteen. When she was done and put the cap back on, she looked around their surroundings, taking everything in. She leaned forward around John and spotted something that made her smile. She stood and looked down at him.

"Stay here. I'll be right back. I'm going to go check that cave out."

He looked over to where the cave was and nodded. "Side arm. Just in case. Be careful."

She nodded, pulling out her side arm and walked towards the entrance to the cave cautiously. When she reached the entrance, she stepped inside and waited for her eyes to adjust properly from the drop in light exposure.

It wasn't a particularly big cave, but it extended back several feet and the entrance was quite small. If she placed some brush in front of it or something similar, she was sure no one would be able to tell this was a cave rather than an awfully large boulder.

Nikki stepped back out from the cave and walked over to Sheppard, slipping her side arm back into its holster. "It's clear. Big enough for both of us and if I put some brush in front of the entrance, I'm sure it'll conceal it enough to avoid a second glance."

He nodded and started to stand with the assistance of the boulder. "Sounds like a plan. I could use a bit of relaxation after almost getting drowned, shot, blown up, falling to our deaths…It's been a long day."

Nikki nodded as they got into position for her to help him towards the cave. "I couldn't agree more."

**SGA**

Elizabeth Weir stared down into the gate room. She tapped her fingers nervously against the railing she was leaning against as her mind was far beyond the city, traveling with her people towards the planet to save Colonel Sheppard and the scientists who had accompanied him.

It had seemed liked such a simple mission. They had just been sent out to gather readings about a type of radiation they weren't particularly familiar with and see if they could bring it off course from the planet's surface.

She definitely hadn't been expecting this when she'd last seen them that morning before they departed. She was still trying to figure out what to say to the SGC when they dialed in. It was time for the weekly dial-in with Earth. Usually, Colonel Sheppard gave the military's recounting of events, inventory, the things he was in charge of. With him not present, they would ask about his whereabouts and she had a duty to inform them of the situation. If they found out she had lied when the mission report came in…it wouldn't go down well with the IOA, she was sure.

Chuck's voice rang through the control room as the gate started to activate. "Scheduled gate activation!"

She stayed in her position, studying the gate as it locked into place and the horizon whooshed forward before settling into its blue surface.

"Receiving radio communication."

She nodded, "Patch it through and open a channel."

"Stargate Command to Atlantis base."

Elizabeth turned away from the stargate, unable to stare at it any longer. "This is Dr. Weir. Our prepared data burst is ready to be sent when you're ready to receive."

"Send it through."

She nodded at Chuck who typed a few keys and sent their data burst through to the SGC. After a moment, General O'Neill's voice came over the radio. "The data burst is received, Dr. So, anything exciting happening around the city I should know about?"

Elizabeth hesitated a moment before launching into what was going on. "General, we have a situation. Colonel Sheppard and two scientists left on a mission this morning to study an asteroid giving off a different type of radiation. We received a delayed transmission from them shortly after they arrived saying they were under attack from the planet's inhabitants. Their jumper went down and crashed into a lake. I've sent out jumper two that contains the rest of Sheppard's team along with Major Lorne's."

There was a brief moment of silence before the General's voice crackled over the radio. "So, you're saying that the CMO of Atlantis went on a simple science mission for sheer kicks and giggles, ended up being attacked because that's what Sheppard does best, and there are two teams on their way to his location now."

"Yes, sir. The flight time is ten hours. I sent jumper two five hours ago, so they're about halfway there. Also…we believe we know who these people are. We believe they may be from the myth of the Atlans. The information given before Sheppard and his team went down and also the information Dr. McKay was able to find in the database about the planet seems to fit with the myth."

"The _Atlans_? Now, refresh me if I'm wrong, but weren't they supposed to be in Southern Brazil?"

"Yes, General, but we also thought this city was on Earth as well. It could very well be the same situation where some of the Greeks heard it from surviving Ancients and misinterpreted it. The facts add up, General."

There was a sigh heard through the radio. "I'll take your word for it. I'll also have Daniel dig up anything he can on the myth on this end, just in case. Keep me posted. O'Neill out."

The gate disconnected and the control room fell into silence. Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and walking into her office. This was going to be a long night.

**SGA**

Nikki was filling their canteens with more cool water when she heard it. It wasn't very loud, but she'd been listening intently just in case. She knew John was safe where he was. She'd left him in the cave before covering the entrance so no one would realize that it was a cave.

She reached for the side arm, just in case she would need it, and pulled it out of the holster. She turned around and kept her eyes narrowed for the source of the noise.

Quietly, she walked towards the tree line, not wanting to go back to the cave and give away Sheppard's hiding spot if there was someone out there watching them. She turned in a slow circle once she was about ten feet into the forest.

Nikki hadn't even heard them approach until it was too late. A blow landed right between her shoulder blades, pushing her down to the ground. On her way down, she whipped around so that she landed on her backside instead of on her knees, facing away from her opponent.

She raised the side arm only to have it knocked out of her hands by another blow. This time she saw who her opponent was. It was a small group of women who looked like warriors, four of them to be exact.

She stared down the one who seemed to be in charge as she slowly walked closer to where Nikki was still sitting on the ground. Nikki was looking for options. She was going to have to fight these women off on her own. There was no way John could help her this time. It was in that moment when she became thankful for all those boot camps her father had made her endure during her childhood.

When the woman was close enough, Nikki wrapped her heel around the women's knee, knocking her down to land on her knees. When she was just about to land and before she could get her bearings, Nikki snapped out her arm and connected her palm to the woman's nose, knocking her head backwards. Nikki's other fist connected with her stomach, making her bend over back towards Nikki. Nikki slammed her elbow right into the warrior's temple, sending her crashing to the ground unconscious or dead, Nikki really didn't care at that point.

She jumped to her feet and got into a defensive stance, eyeing the other warriors as they started to advance on her. One came up on her right which she swung out her arm. She made it seem like she was going for her head, but at the last second, when it was too late to block the redirected strike, she aimed for her ribs. Nikki heard a couple of satisfactory snaps, causing the warrior to lurch forward to pain. As the woman going forward, Nikki flicked her wrist up and slammed it into her nose, sending the woman backwards and landing with a thump.

The one who had been in the center used the distracted of the second warrior to her advantage. She'd been carrying a weapon, a tool that looked a lot similar to club with a huge spike nailed through the end of it. A thought went through Nikki's mind about why this group wasn't using the guns they'd saw the first group use. Maybe they came from a different tribe or something? Who knew.

Nikki was able to dodge most of the hit, but the edge of the spike cut a line from just below her left temple and curved down along her jaw and ended right by her chin. She could feel the blood already starting to make its way down her face, but she didn't have time to think about it. She threw her left arm out over the club that was still raised and brought it in towards her, pinning it to her side, careful not to stab herself with the spike. She wrapped her arm around the club and pulled, bringing the warrior closer where she slammed her heel into the warrior's stomach as hard as she could at the same time she let go of the club. The warrior flew backwards several feet and landed with a thud, but she didn't stay down long.

While she was down, the fourth warrior stepped in, having had enough of watching her comrades get the beatings of their lives. Nikki decided to throw the first punch, but it was blocked. As were her second, third, and fourth strikes. This warrior was blocking her hits left and right. The woman twisted Nikki's arm out of the way and threw a punch Nikki wasn't able to block. It landed on her left cheek, but when her fist hit Nikki's face, it slipped on the blood coating that side of her face and slammed into her nose, sending her staggering a couple of steps.

Nikki regained her balance and whipped around take up a defensive stance against the warrior. The woman was smiling victoriously, as if she had already taken Nikki down. The sight just spurred her on and made her fight harder.

The warrior took a step closer to her as her friend was picking herself up off the ground. Nikki kicked her leg out and wrapped it around the warrior's legs, knocking her to the ground. As she was falling, Nikki lunged forward and slammed her fist straight into her nose, pushing her down faster and making her hit the ground that much harder. The warrior's head came down on a rock. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and closed. _Three down, one more to go._

Nikki looked at the last of the warriors as she glanced down at the woman she'd just dropped.

"You've got two options here. You can either turn around and high tail it out of here or you can end up on the ground, dead, like your comrades. Your choice."

The warrior's eyes narrowed and she let out warrior's battle cry as she rushed towards Nikki. Nikki had been expecting it, knowing she wouldn't just turn around and head for home after watching her friends go down. Nikki made a snap decision as she side stepped the warrior who had taken a run for her, causing the warrior to almost slam into a tree in surprise. Taking the time for her advantage, she dove for the abandoned club, picked it up, and spun around to face her only opponent.

"Okay. Fighting to the death. Looks like you picked the option that ends with you lying in a pool of your own blood. I hope it was worth it."

The warrior hissed at her and then lunged, not seeming to care that she was wielding a club that had a rather sharp spike on the end of it. When the warrior was in range, Nikki swung the club, but she deflected it and knocked it out of Nikki's hands. _Okay, tougher than they look._

The warrior knocked Nikki backwards, making her land in the dirt with her straddling her waist. The warrior threw punch after punch, Nikki only being able to deflect half of them before she was able to shift her weight and roll them sideways. Nikki rolled them until she was on top, straddling the warrior where she unleashed several punches of her own. She used one arm to hold down one of the warrior's arms, not letting her use it to block her strikes and allowing more strikes to go through. Nikki didn't stop until the warrior finally went limp beneath her. Slowly, she stood and looked around her. Two of the women were still alive.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, not liking what she was about to do, but she couldn't leave any of them alive with their hiding spot to close and with John having a broken leg. She searched around until she found her side arm and then sent a bullet into both warrior's skulls, ensuring a quick death.

Nikki slid the side arm into its holster, picked up the club, and returned to the cave. She left the entrance open just enough to let some light in. When she stepped through the entrance, John's head snapped up. "What the hell happened?! I heard gun shots and…you're bleeding. Come here, sit."

She did as she was told, too tired from the fight since the adrenaline rush was starting to wear off, and all but collapsed onto the ground beside him.

He looked up into her eyes, worried. "What happened?"

"I heard a noise, so I went to go check it out. I didn't want to return to the cave in case someone was watching me. Turns out, someone was watching me. Four warriors came out of nowhere. I fought them off. They're all dead."

John nodded, knowing it was the right call to kill them. They couldn't have their position compromised. He pulled out a handkerchief from his tact vest and scooted closer. He pulled one of the canteens out of her pockets and poured a little bit onto the material. He started to clean away the blood so that he could bandage up what he needed to.

"So you fought off four of them? Were they all women again?"

"Yeah. I used two of the bullets to make sure they were dead. They were unconscious, but…I didn't want to take any chances."

John nodded, "It was the right call, Nikki. A tough one, but the right one. We're fighting for our survival. And when that happens…you have to do what you have to do. We can keep it out of the report that you used the bullets like that. Don't worry about anything."

She nodded, not sure what to really say. She let him take care of her wounds, liking being taken care for once. Since she was the one with a medical degree, she was usually taking care of everyone else.

"You know…this is kind of nice. Alien planet where we're running for our lives, broken legs, and blood aside. Don't take this the wrong way, but…I'm glad it was you I got stuck on this planet with. If it had been anyone else, I probably would have shot them by now."

John chuckled as he continued to clean her wounds. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Nikki smiled, "As you should. If it had been Kavanaugh, I would have left him back at the base of that cliff. Or shot him myself, saved these people the trouble."

John chuckled again, his smile widening. "I wouldn't blame you one bit there. There have been several times where I've wanted to shoot that man. McKay's wanted to shoot him, Elizabeth wanted to shoot him a couple of times. Ronon almost beat him up one time when we thought he was a traitor."

"What happened?"

"He fainted."

Nikki's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me. He actually fainted?"

John smiled, "Yeah. Took one look at Ronon approaching him and went down like a rock. Ever since then, he avoids Ronon at all costs."

Nikki giggled, "Yeah, I would too. Though, I know that underneath all the burly intimidation, Ronon's really a big sweetheart."

John stopped cleaning the cut on her face and looked her in the eye. "Please don't tell me you have a crush on the big guy."

She rolled her eyes, "No, I do not have a crush on Ronon, thank you very much. I have my sights already set on someone, for your information."

John hesitate before he started to clean her cut again. He nodded absently, trying to play it off. "Let me guess…one of the strapping young marines?"

She rolled her eyes again, "No. And even if you did guess right somehow, which I don't think you would…I'm not ready for anyone to know."

His eyes met her again questioningly. "Not even him?"

She shook her head slightly. "Not even him. I'm just not…" She looked down at her hands, thinking about what to say, but before she could continue, he started talking.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I understand the whole, 'not ready for a relationship thing'. Trust me. I thought I was ready for one and look where it got me."

She looked back up at him, her eyes curious. "Was she the first since Nancy?"

He looked back at the cut, inspecting it thoroughly. "Yeah. Well, the first that could have been serious. The first I had actually started to care about before everything went south. I don't know. It's difficult to maintain a relationship when you're basically everyone's boss."

"You're not everyone's boss though. Only the military. Surely there's a scientist who isn't a whack job who could make you happy."

He nodded, "Yeah, there is."

It'd slipped out before he could stop it and a small blush rose to his cheeks before he could stop that either. Her smile a fraction at seeing him blush, but a part of her didn't like it.

"Who is she?"

He stopped cleaning the cut, having already cleaned it as good as it was going to get. "I guess I'm not ready for anyone to know either. Though Ronon's thrown a few glances my way about it, so I'm sure he already knows. How he seems to know everything like that is beyond me. I don't think I'll ever understand it."

Nikki chuckled, "Yeah, friends are funny that way."

John took her hands in his and started bandaging up the cuts on her knuckles when he was done with the long cut on her face. He wrapped some gauze around her knuckles, that's as far as their medical equipment went.

"You're all patched up. Anything else hurt? Any other injuries I should know about?"

Nikki shook her head slowly. "No."

He nodded and was about to turn away from her when he saw the sadness in her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest. She laid her head down just under his chin and rested her hand on his chest.

"What's wrong?"

It took a moment for her to answer. "I don't want to sound like a little kid when I say this, but…I really want to go home."

He nodded, "I'm sure when we get back to the city Elizabeth will grant you a couple of weeks to go back to Earth given our situation."

She shook her head. "Earth's not home, John."

He rested his head on top of hers and tightened his hold on her. "We'll get home, Nikki. I promise you that. We only two more hours until they should be getting here and then Rodney will have programmed a life signs detector to pick up our subcutaneous locator beacons. We'll be home in no time."

She nodded, snuggling deeper onto his chest. "And then what?"

"And then we start a new chapter in our lives where we make the most of everything."

She nodded again, "I like that, but does that mean I'll have to suck it up and tell him I like him?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Okay, but on one condition."

"What's that, Nikki?"

"You have to tell her you like her too."

"Deal."

**SGA**

Evan set the jumper down in the only open clearing miles from where the HUD was saying their people were. He looked over at McKay who was configuring the life signs detectors to pick up on their subcutaneous locator beacons. "Any idea who those two are? If the Colonel is one of them?"

McKay looked up from the detector and pointed to one of them. "That one right there is Dr. Teagan. And that one is Sheppard. I'm not picking up Dr. Barden's anywhere which means…which means he didn't survive. It's only the two of them that we're looking for."

Lorne nodded. He wasn't very happy that he wasn't able to bring back all three of them, but he would settle for just the two.

They were all geared up and ready to go as Lorne started to lower the hatch. Ronon was braced against the wall, his gun aimed out of the hatch in case there was anyone unwanted nearby. They unloaded the jumper and Lorne hit the remote to seal the hatch and then cloak it. "Okay, I want my team to stay here and guard the area. Make sure no one finds that jumper. That's our only way home. Ronon, Teyla, McKay and I will go after the Colonel and Dr. Teagan. We'll keep in radio contact just to be on the safe side. If you don't hear from us in half an hour, get in the jumper and track us down."

Sergeant Wheeler nodded, "Yes, sir."

Lorne nodded, "Alright, let's go get them back."

They started walking through the forest, each one keeping their eyes and ears open for any signs of the Atlans. Every one of them minus Rodney, that is. McKay had his eyes practically glued to the life signs detector, making sure they were going in the right direction at all times.

"Alright, we need to head in that direction. It looks like they're holding steady, so it shouldn't be too difficult to track them down."

Ronon nodded, looking around the forest. "It's quiet."

Teyla nodded, "I agree. Too quiet. There are no animals."

Lorne looked back at her briefly before looking back out at the forest. "Maybe that's a result of the radiation from the asteroid? Would it have any effects on the planet?"

McKay looked up from the life signs detector. "That's a very real possibility. The asteroid was quite close when we approached it. We have never seen that kind of radiation so there's no way to be sure if it's capable of reaching the planet's surface and inflicting that kind of harm on the environment. It very well could be why these people are so pissed off too."

Teyla glanced over at him briefly. "I imagine they are upset because their ancestors were experimented on and then left to die on an abandoned planet with no stargate."

Rodney grimaced, "True, but also if the radiation is causing the wildlife to virtually become extinct…that could cause all sorts of problems for their food source. Surely, they can't just eat plants all the time. There has to be some kind of meat in there somewhere and with the wildlife gone…there is no meat."

Ronon grunted, "Nice observation."

"Hey! I'd like to see you do the science stuff for a change."

Ronon looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. He stared at McKay until he started to fidget and looked away from the tall, towering man loaded down with weapons and dreadlocks.

"How much farther are they?"

McKay looked down at the sensor and calculated the route quickly in his head. "About another ten minute walk or so."

Ronon nodded, "Then let's keep moving."

They continued on in silence for a while, Rodney mumbling to himself, something to do with Radek screwing with an experiment.

Ten minutes later, they reached a river. Teyla looked around and spotted what looked like a cave with no entrance. It was big enough, but there was no entrance from where she was standing. "Rodney, are you sure they are nearby? I do not see where they could be."

Rodney nodded, "Yes! It says so right here! They're about thirty feet in…that direction." He pointed directly at the structure Teyla had thought was a cave.

She nodded and approached slowly. "Are there any other life signs around?"

He shook his head, "No. It's only us and them."

Before she could approach any further, the brush that was sitting in front of the larger structure moved. She raised her weapon, just in case the detector hadn't been able to pick up on enemy life signs.

It moved out of the way and Nikki stepped through. Her body visibly relaxed when she saw them and her face lit up. "Boy am I glad to see you guys."

Teyla lowered her weapon and stepped up next to Nikki, examining her injuries. "How did this happen?"

Nikki shook her head, "It doesn't matter. I hope the jumper is nearby?"

Teyla nodded, but before she could ask why, Nikki continued. "Good. John's leg is broken. We've been hiding in here for a few hours, hoping to stay away from the groups of warriors."

Ronon stepped closer. "Groups of warriors?"

She nodded, "Yeah, they're all women. So far we've only encountered two groups. A group of five and a group of four. The first group had guns, but the second only had primitive weapons. Don't worry, they're all dead."

She stepped inside the cave and was followed by Teyla and Lorne. McKay and Ronon stayed outside since the cave wasn't very big.

John looked up as Teyla and Evan walked in. "Well! Good to know the cavalry wasn't attacked on their way here. And…now we can finally get off this godforsaken planet and go home."

Nikki nodded as she helped John stand up and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I couldn't agree more."

They exited the cave and John looked over at Ronon and McKay. "Hey guys, nice of you to make it."

McKay snorted. "Oh yes, how nice of us to endure a ten hour jumper ride in which we weren't even sure if you were alive or not. How exciting for us."

John grimaced, "Well, don't explode with excitement to see me alive and…somewhat well. It's okay, I understand."

Nikki rolled her eyes. "Can we please skip the friendly banter and get the hell out of here? My shower is calling my name along with a hot meal."

John shook his head, "More like the infirmary is calling your name. Beckett will most likely keep you overnight just because it's Beckett."

She grunter her response which earned a smirk from Ronon. They began their walk back in silence before Teyla looked at the Colonel.

"So, Colonel, what happened after you sent the transmission?"

John grimaced just thinking about it. "Well, I was able to steer the jumper towards a lake before we lost controls altogether. We also lost inertial dampeners so when we hit, we hit hard. The land knocked all of us out and we didn't regain consciousness until…a couple of hundred feet down or so, I'd say. It wasn't too deep, but deep enough. Barden had hit his head a couple of times, once on the landing, and again when I opened the hatch door so we could make it to the surface. He…didn't make it."

John looked down at Nikki for a moment before continuing. "We swam to shore and took a break for a few minutes, regaining our strength before the first group we encountered spotted us. They chased us through the forest for…I don't know how long. We ended up coming to the top of a cliff and were stuck. They tracked us down and had guns on his. When none of them were looking, I pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and let it fly. Before it landed, I threw us out of the way, but the blast sent us over the edge of the cliff. We landed and were both knocked unconscious. That's how I broke my leg. I think we were out for about half an hour or so. Nikki reset my leg and we went in search of water. We found the river and then Nikki found that cave."

Nikki nodded, "Nice spot to put a cave. It was the perfect hiding spot."

"That it was. And then a little while later, Nikki went out for more water where she found another group watching her. She kicked some major ass, got some cuts and scrapes, but lived to tell the tale. Even got us a weapon if we needed it. Then it gets kind of boring from there."

Rodney snorted. "What? Did you sit around the campfire telling ghost stories and singing Kumbaya?"

John rolled his eyes, "No, Rodney, we were not. We couldn't make a campfire without disclosing our position, for one. For two, who the hell sings Kumbaya anymore?"

"Girl scouts."

John nodded, "Well, there you go. We're not girl scouts so there's your answer."

They continued walking and Teyla filled them in on the back story of the Atlans. It was quite a long story and Teyla finished it right as they entered the clearing.

"Huh. So that's why they shot us out of the sky."

Teyla nodded, "It was appear so."

They approached the jumper as it uncloaked and the hatch lowered. Lorne and his team walked in first, taking up the front of the jumper. The rest of them climbed on and Nikki helped John sit down in the back of the jumper. John rested his head against the wall of the jumper and sighed. "I don't think I've ever been this relieved to sit in the back of a jumper."

Nikki chuckled and nodded, "I hear ya."

Lorne raised the hatch and brought them up off the ground. He them away from the planet and towards home. Lorne opened communications and radioed back to Atlantis.

"Atlantis this is jumper two, please respond."

Weir's voice came over the radio and John smiled. "This is Atlantis base. Please tell me you have some good news."

John gestured for Nikki to help him up and she helped him get into the cockpit so he could respond. Lorne saw him approaching and let him do the talking.

"I'd say it's some pretty good news. It could be better, but it could also be worse."

There was a moment of silence before Elizabeth's voice sounded over the radio. You could hear the relief in her voice. "It's good to hear your voice, John. Did the scientists survive as well?"

John paused, but only for a brief second. "Dr. Teagan and I were able to make it through. I'll give you a full report when we get back."

"That sounds like a plan. I'd also like to inform you all that-."

Lorne's voice cut off Dr. Weir's. "A ship just dropped out of hyperspace. It's the Daedalus, sir."

"You were saying, Elizabeth?"

"I was saying that I arranged for the Daedalus to meet you on your way back. That was the quickest they could get to you."

John nodded, "Well, thanks for the arrangement. That means we can get home sooner. We'll see you soon. Jumper two out."

John looked down at Lorne. "Open communications with the Daedalus."

Lorne nodded and signaled when they were open. "Daedalus, this is Colonel John Sheppard. Nice of you to join us."

Colonel Caldwell's voice echoed through the jumper. "Would have been here sooner, but we had some problems of our own. Good to hear you survived, Sheppard."

John smirked, "Yeah, I thought so too. So, what do you say we come aboard and get the hell out of this part of space?"

"I think it sounds like an excellent plan. Hangar bay doors are open. Come on in."

"Will do, sir. Jumper two out."

John looked down at Lorne. "Get us onto that ship so we can get the hell out of here."

Lorne smiled, "I would love to, sir."

John smiled and turned back towards the rear compartment, Nikki in tow. "I so cannot wait to get back to the infirmary."

As they sat down, he paused, "And I never thought I would ever say that."

Nikki chuckled, "And I never thought I'd hear you say it either."

They boarded the Daedalus and got Sheppard insisted he could wait to go to the infirmary until after the reached Atlantis. They stayed aboard the jumper since it would only be about fifteen minutes or so and then they would be home.

John looked around the compartment at his friends. "Thanks for coming for us."

Teyla smiled at him and nodded, "You would have done the same for us, Colonel."

He nodded, "Yeah, I would have."

**I hope you enjoyed! So, the myth about the Atlans is actually a real thing. I did my research. That's where I got it all from. Also, the part about Agis, Bretta, Crassus, and Dyanna is all a part of the myth. The only part of it I added was that they're in the Pegasus Galaxy. And added a name or two of my own. That's it. So! I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know! Thanks! =)**


	5. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

**A/N: I don't own sga. Nope. Just my characters.**

**So...I tried something different in this chapter. I've never seen this done in any of the stories I've read for this fandom. So, I figured I'd give it a shot. The lyrics and everything are Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer. I used the Michael Henry and Justin Robinett version because it's on piano and I love that version. I hope I didn't butcher anything...and I hope you enjoy it! Like I said, I've never seen this done in this fandom, so I hope it was a good change of pace!**

**Chapter 5**

Chuck walked into the mess hall and his eyes roamed over the many heads surrounding the tables. It was lunchtime, so the room was packed with people.

He was only looking for one in particular though. His eyes roamed further down and finally spotted him. He smiled to himself at his success as he moved towards the man sitting at a table with his friends. They were laughing about something unknown to anyone else.

He approached the table from behind the man and stepped up next to him.

"Sir, the Daedalus has arrived with mail. You received a letter. I thought you'd want it right away."

Lt. Colonel John Sheppard looked up at him and tilted his head to the side in confusion as he set up straighter. He reached out and took the envelope he'd been carrying.

"Thanks, Chuck."

Chuck nodded, backing away from the table. The entire control room had been buzzing as soon as the letter had been pulled from the pile. The Colonel never received any mail and it didn't have a return address. The gossip mills were rolling on this piece of meat.

**SGA**

John looked down at the envelope in his hands. It didn't have a return address on it, which was strange to say the least. Not to mention the fact that he never got mail, ever.

He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he slipped open the envelope cautiously, as if it would bite him. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to read whatever was inside.

He momentarily glanced around the table at his team and Nikki who were watching him, as curious as he was.

He pulled a piece of paper from the envelope and unfolded it, dread settling in the pit of his stomach. He recognized the handwriting immediately and was tempted to tuck it back where it came from and pitch in the trash on his way out.

_Dear John,_

_Wow, I never thought I'd ever talk to you again. I know you must be surprised to be hearing from me. I don't even really know why I'm writing to you. I guess I'm just not sure what to do anymore. Grant…Grant and I are getting a divorce. I just can't seem to make a marriage work. He said it was because I never fully got over you. Seeing you at Patrick's wake made me think of the old times. When we were still in love. I miss it, John. I miss you coming home to me. I miss you more than I did when you'd had to go on your missions and leave me behind. I never thought that was possible, but it is. John, I miss us. I don't know if you've found someone who can make you happy, probably not. You're never going to change. That's why you need to come home now, John. You need to grow up and stop playing games. We both know we belong together. It's for the best. Come home, John. I'll see you soon, honey._

_Love Always,_

_Nancy_

His eyes narrowed at the piece if paper in his hands. How dare she. How dare she write to him after all this time and demand they get back together. She had no right!

He crumpled the paper into a ball, threw it to the side, and stood up. He didn't know where he was going, but he needed to get away. He was about to explode, he could feel it.

He needed to get away.

**SGA**

Nikki watched John's body tense the more he read. She could practically feel the anger rolling off of him. She wanted to say something, but what could you say?

Suddenly, he crumpled the letter, threw it aside, and walked away. His fists were tightened at his side and he left the mess hall in a hurry to get nowhere.

She looked down at her feet, where the letter lay in a ball. Did she dare?

Nikki picked it up and slowly unwrinkled it. She saw the curves of a woman's handwriting and instantly wondered if it was from his ex-wife. She remembered John telling her about his first marriage and how badly it had ended.

Her eyes flew across the page as she quickly read line after line. Definitely from his ex-wife. She looked up where he'd gone and hesitated. "John…"

Should she go after him? Would he want company or would he prefer to be alone? He was pretty upset when he had stormed out of there.

_Oh, what the hell. If he needs someone to talk to, I'll be there for him._

She jumped up from the table, ignoring the team's questions of what was going on, and ran through the mess hall.

Once out in the hallway, she wondered where he would go.

She checked his quarters, no luck there. He liked going to the East pier, but again empty. She checked every balcony she remembered he liked to go to, but kept coming up empty.

_Maybe he went for a jumper ride. Or to one of the recreational rooms?_

She decided to check the rec rooms first, just in case.

She was almost there when the sound of a piano started to echo through the empty halls. No one was in this part of the city at the moment. They were all either on duty, off-world, or in the mess hall having lunch.

Nikki picked up her pace, jogging down the hallways towards the rec room that had the piano in it. When she finally reached it, she stopped, not sure if it was John she was hearing playing or someone else. If it was someone else, she really didn't want to disturb their alone time.

That's when a voice flowed through the air towards her, making her head lift and her feet carry her closer. She stopped just inside the door and poked her head around to see who was playing.

John was sitting on the bench, his fingers sliding easily over the keys and his voice filling the room. She had no idea he could play, let alone sing. His voice rooted her to the spot. The words started to filter into her brain and that's when she understood why he had taken off.

_It's not a silly little moment,  
It's not the storm before the calm.  
This is the deep and dying breath of  
This love that we've been working on._

He was alone out here. Sure, he had his friends, his teammates, and everyone under his command surrounding him, but he was alone. That letter had driven home that fact. She had told him he'd never change. He'd never get someone to make him happy, other than her, but the fact was she didn't make him happy. She made him miserable.

_Can't seem to hold you like I want to  
So I can feel you in my arms.  
Nobody's gonna come and save you,  
We pulled too many false alarms._

Their marriage had been rocky from the start and had only gotten worse. Every time they had tried to fix it, things came crashing down that much harder, faster. They'd said they were going to call it quits several times before it had been made official. Each time, they had poured out more of their heart and soul to attempt to recover even the smallest bit of their love, but in the end it had failed.

_We're going down,  
And you can see it too.  
We're going down,  
And you know that we're doomed.  
My dear,  
We're slow dancing in a burning room._

He had known that it was futile. Their marriage would never work with him being gone so much and never being able to tell her where he had been or what he had been doing. There were too many secrets for their marriage to succeed. Too many unknowns for anything to work properly. There was no trust.

_I was the one you always dreamed of,  
You were the one I tried to draw.  
How dare you say it's nothing to me?  
Baby, you're the only light I ever saw._

She had always dreamed of having a husband. A loyal man who served his country and did his time. She had always wanted a husband who was willing to lay down his life for those in need. He had loved her, but it hadn't been enough. Every time he walked out the door, called away on another mission, his heart stayed behind. It broke his heart to see her so miserable because of him and knowing that he couldn't make her happy. He'd wanted a family, a real family, like the one he had before his mom had died. He had seen the opportunity to have a family with her.

_I'll make the most of all the sadness,  
You'll be a bitch because you can.  
You try to hit me just to hurt me  
So you leave me feeling dirty  
Because you can't understand._

He had tried to pour his heart into his work, find happiness there, make something out of a failure. She had yelled at him, blamed him for everything. When he left for the last mission, she had told him never to come back if he walked out the door. He walked out the door, but he had still returned. He had returned to an empty house and her wedding ring lying on the table. He couldn't tell her about his missions. They were special ops, top secret and confidential. If he told her the things he had to do, she could be killed or imprisoned from just knowing. She didn't understand why he had to keep the secrets he had to keep. That had driven a wedge between them, a wedge that turned permanent.

_We're going down,  
And you can see it too.  
We're going down,  
And you know that we're doomed.  
My dear,  
We're slow dancing in a burning room._

Go cry about it - why don't you?  
Go cry about it - why don't you?  
Go cry about it - why don't you?

He had told Nikki everything about his past. She had asked him to and he had. He'd told her his deepest, darkest secrets and she had listened to every word. She knew he was a silent man who kept his feelings to himself, so she had clung to every word that poured from his lips.

_My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room,  
Burning room,  
Burning room,  
Burning room,  
Burning room._

He'd always blamed himself for their marriage falling apart. He'd blamed himself for not being able to be there for her like a husband should. He blamed himself for making her worry about him, not being able to tell her if he was even alive. He blamed himself for everything that had happened between them whether it his fault or not.

_Don't you think we oughta know by now?  
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?  
Don't you think we oughta know by now?  
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?  
Don't you think we oughta know by now?  
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow? _

The last keys were struck and the room soon fell silent. His fingers rested on the keys for a moment longer before he let them slip into his lap. His head bowed down, his eyes squeezed shut. This was his moment of solitary. He was alone and he could let his walls crumble for a moment. He could let himself be open with himself, acknowledge the pain he was feeling instead of shoving it down under a lid and making an empty promise to deal with it later.

He had failed. He had failed at everything in that marriage. It was his fault they hadn't lasted very long, they both knew it. And here she was, telling him to come home. She was telling him that they belonged together. She had told him to grow up and to stop playing games.

_If only she knew…_

If only she knew what he had to do every day.

If only she knew the kinds of sacrifices he'd had to make over the years.

If only she knew what kind of man he really was, she wouldn't want him back.

His mind swirled around these thoughts relentlessly. If only…If only he could tell her, if only he could find someone who could put up with him, if only he could open up to someone, if only…if only he could find that happiness he'd been searching for since the day his mom died.

"That was beautiful. Did you write it yourself?"

His head snapped up in the direction of the door where the voice had come from.

Nikki.

Nikki was standing in the doorway with a knowing expression in her eyes. He instantly knew that she'd read the letter and had come to make sure he was okay.

He slammed the walls up around him as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough. She'd seen the sadness in his eyes, the heartache, the guilt. A single tear rolled down his cheek before he could stop it. He quickly turned and wiped it away, praying she hadn't seen it.

"Yeah. I wrote it years ago during my divorce."

The room was silent for a long moment until he felt her sit down beside him on the bench. "I didn't know you could play. Could you show me something? I've always wanted to learn."

He knew she was stalling for his benefit, to help him regain some of his composure before she asked the difficult questions, but he played along.

"Sure." He rested his hands on the keys gently and played through a short song he had learned years ago. It was easy to pick up, a catchy tune he knew would be stuck in his head for days. She nodded her head to the beat, carefully watching his fingers.

When he was done, he rested his hands back on his lap and stared at the piano, not sure what to say.

"Have you ever told anyone?"

He glances at her sideways, but doesn't move his head. "Told anyone what?"

She ran a finger lightly over a few of the keys, light enough not to make a sound. "About how alone you feel."

Her answer shocked him to his core. How had she known he'd felt alone? He was surrounded by people, by his friends and teammates, he was sitting by her at that moment. How could she have known that none of it really mattered? That there was still that emptiness inside of him he'd been craving to fill.

"How…"

"I dated this guy for six years. We were engaged, but…it didn't work out. Some things happened and we broke up. After that, it didn't matter where I was or who I was with, it wasn't enough. I was never fully satisfied. There were times when I felt like I was happy. I was smiling, laughing, having a good time, but it wasn't enough. There was still this hole inside of me, threatening to tear me apart if I didn't fill it. I started searching for a way to fill it, anything. I tried alcohol for a while, but that didn't do anything. Drugs didn't even make a dent in it. I tried having casual one-night stands, some meaningless pleasure, but that got boring fast. I started to pour myself into my work, into my research. That's how I got assigned here. Over half a decade later, I was still trying to fill that hole, so I had poured myself into science. It worked enough and I made enough progress to be contacted by the SGC. I came here and everything was new and exciting, different. New people, new discoveries, new planet, new _galaxy_. There was enough to sustain me for a while, distract me from that hole, but, like always, it came back."

He'd been listening intently to her, a part of him needing to know how she'd dealt with it. "What'd you do?"

"I poured even more of myself into my work. I refused to let myself up for air for days at a time. I refused to let myself even think about it. And then I went on a mission with this guy. You know, shit happened like it does around here and we were stuck."

A small smile appeared on his lips as he caught on to where she was heading with this.

"I got to talking with him, really talking. Just…not caring what was said. About anything and everything. I opened myself up to him and…that hole got smaller. All those years I'd been burying it, trying to repress it, shove it behind a wall so far it would never see the light of day ever again, but when I opened up and put myself out there…I could feel it starting to shrink. I had allowed myself to actually be happy, _truly _happy for the first time in years and…it helped. Do you know what I'm trying to say here?"

He turned his head towards her, but didn't say anything. His eyes were searching hers for any signs of deceit and found none.

"I'm trying to say that you can't close yourself off from the world. If you do, you'll never be truly happy. You'll always feel alone even when you're really not. You may feel like you don't have anyone to talk to, vent to, but that's not true. Teyla is always willing to listen, Ronon…he may be silent, but that makes him a good listener. McKay…he's obnoxious, but he cares. He cares enough to want to help when he can. And then you have me. I know you haven't known me as long as your team, but I feel like we've connected over the past month or two. And I'm here for you. I won't judge, scouts honor."

She held up her hand in a mock salute, trying to pry a smile out of him and succeeded.

"Thanks. You know…I'm not good with…"

"Words?"

His smile grew the slightest bit, "Yeah. Or people. Or…"

"Feelings?"

He chuckled, "That too."

He looked down at the piano, his mind picking up speed, wondering what to say, what to do.

"You know…I told her I'd quit the Air Force."

She looked over at him curiously, but let him continue.

"I told her I wanted a family, that if she got pregnant, I'd resign. Sometimes I thank…whomever's out there…for not letting her get pregnant. Who knows where I'd be if that had happened. I wouldn't be here, that's for sure. Some days I wish she had gotten pregnant. Maybe I'd…be happy then."

She slid her hand over his and squeezed reassuringly. "John, you deserve better than that. You deserve better than a what if situation. A real family, one that loves you and supports you no matter what, one that doesn't nag, argue, and make you feel guilty about everything. You have that here. You have a family here. It might not be a traditional one, but…who knows. Maybe one day you'll get that."

"It's not easy…maintaining a relationship on top of this job. This job takes a lot. I give a lot of myself to this city, to this job. At the end of the day…I don't know if it's enough. I don't know if I have enough to give to someone…I feel…incomplete, but at the same time…it's like I'm overwhelmed with everything."

Nikki nodded. "You're overwhelmed because you don't have anyone you feel you can share the burden with. You don't have that kind of partner where you can just unload everything and not have to worry about them taking it too far and just calling it quits. You're a good man, John. Any woman would be lucky to be able to call you their man, to be able to go home to you every night. I know it's not easy, but…it'll get better. You just have to open yourself up to someone, let yourself be truly happy."

He smiled at her, a genuine smile. "I have been opening myself up to someone."

When he saw her face fall the slightest bit when she didn't understand what he meant, he kept going, not realizing that they had an audience as Teyla and Ronon had appeared in the doorway behind them. "One day I met this scientist who turned my world around. I knew she was going to be trouble since day one. And she was, still is, in fact. We fought some battles together, fought for our lives together. She asked me to open up to her and I did. I let her in when I haven't let anyone in that far in years. I haven't even let my team in that far. I trust them with my life, but…never saw an opportunity or way to open up to them. But this scientist…she's beautiful. She makes me happier than I've been in a very long time. She's seen me at my lowest, which no one has since my mom died. I've shut everyone else out since the day I was told my mom had passed away. For me to be able to open up after so long…"

He looked away from Nikki, down at their hands where she was still holding his firmly, reassuringly. "It's hard, but it's worth it. Sometimes…sometimes I feel like I'm not enough. That I don't deserve such a big responsibility. I feel like throwing in my hat, going back to Earth, and see what I can do about getting my brother back since he's the only blood I have left. And then there are days where I know that what I do matters and I wouldn't trade those days for anything. I wouldn't trade being here for anything. My team…for the longest time they were all I had. Them, Elizabeth, and Carson were the only people I had. Then, for a while I thought I had gotten my brother back, but…that didn't go anywhere. Then I met Lorne. And then…I met this scientist. And she became one of the best friends I could ever hope for."

He looked back up at her and smiled. "You know, I think that hole is starting to shrink."

She smiled back at him before resting her head on his shoulder. "Good. It's about time it did. I'll be sure to thank this scientist for helping you so much. She must be pretty badass to get through to you."

He chuckled, "Yeah, and you know what they say about women who are badass."

She glanced up at him, but didn't move her head. "What's that?"

"They make a mean sandwich."

Nikki snorted, shaking her head, but letting the comment drop. She was content with just sitting there the way they were and letting the city go on around them without them for a while.

**What did you think about John singing? I've always thought he'd have a nice voice since it's deep and all. Given, he does have a certain...uniqueness to his voice where he likes to go a little higher when he talks and all, but...You'd be surprised at how many people who's voices are a little different like that or they talk differently and they end up having such a beautiful singing voice. Who knows! But...I hope you liked it! Next chapter is ready to be posted! So, I'll get that up either later today or tomorrow.**


	6. Flirting, Laughing, and Plotting

**A/N: All I own are my original characters. Nothing else. **

**So. I said it would be up soon, didn't I? I think I did...Meh, whatever. Here it is!**

**Chapter 3**

One week ago today, John Sheppard was promoted from Lt. Colonel to full Colonel. He was promoted based on his exemplary work with the Replicators and the Wraith. He was gone from Pegasus for almost 3 weeks because of the promotion. They had a dinner and ceremony in his name. And John hated just about every minute of both since everyone's attention was on him for most of the night.

He had taken a week off to spend with his brother while he was back on Earth. Ever since what happened with the Atlans and his conversations with Nikki afterwards, he had decided he wanted to try harder with his brother.

And now he was finally back home on Atlantis. All senior staff had accompanied him to Earth and they were all happy to be home finally. Since they had found an extra ZPM, they didn't have to take the Daedalus and be gone for even longer.

While they were gone, Major Evan Lorne had been in charge. He had stayed behind since Dr. Weir and Teyla were accompanying Sheppard.

John walked into the control room and eyed Lorne standing by one of the control panels. "Lorne! Anything happen while we were away?"

Evan looked up at his commanding officer. "Well, we've had a couple of bumps but nothing too bad. Stackhouse's team was kept captive for a few hours, but we managed to rescue them before any of them were seriously injured. There was a slight problem with one of the jumpers and it caused an away team to almost fly into a sun. But that's about it."

John smirked, "Oh. So the usual then." Evan chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, same ole same ole here in the Pegasus Galaxy. Oh, I heard about the promotion. Congratulations, sir!"

Sheppard looked away and blushed slightly. "Thanks, Lorne. Was Zalenka able to fix the problem on that jumper?"

Lorne grabbed the data pad that was sitting on the control panel he was standing by. He typed a few things and looked up at the Colonel. "Yes, sir. It looks like he got everything back to working order about an hour ago. He must still be up there running tests just to make sure."

John nodded and made his way to the jumper bay. "Keep me posted."

"Will do, sir."

Sheppard walked into the jumper bay and found Radek and Nikki running a few tests on jumper one. He walked up the ramp and they turned their attention on him. "Colonel Sheppard! You're early. I thought you wouldn't be getting back until next week."

John looked at Nikki sitting in the cockpit. "Yeah, we were supposed to, but we got a little restless." Radek looked back down at his laptop. "You mean _you_ got a little restless."

John smiled and put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, well, what can I say? Being away from this place for too long makes me restless. I wanted to get back home."

Nikki set down her laptop and walked to the rear compartment where Zalenka and Sheppard were. "So. What's it feel like to be a full bird?"

Radek stopped typing and looked up at the two of them. "Full bird? What's that?" Sheppard chuckled and explained to him that that's what a full Colonel is called. "Ah. I see. Wait, you got promoted?"

He gave a half-grin and nodded. "Ceremony and everything. At least now I'm on the same level as Colonel Carter and Colonel Caldwell. I've never been the greatest at being under someone's command.

Nikki snorted and shook her head. "That's a shocker." She gave him a sassy grin and walked back into the cockpit to finish her test.

"So, Zalenka, how long until she's up and ready to take a test flight?"

"Well...let's see. Nikki, are you done with your tests?" There was a loud beep and then she turned to them and said, "Sure am. If you're done with yours, I'd be more than happy to take her out with the Colonel here. If something goes wrong, I should be able to fix it."

Radek nodded and started gathering his equipment. Nikki helped unload everything that wasn't necessary and then climbed in. John was already sitting in the pilot's seat when she walked into the cockpit. "I don't suppose there's any chance of you letting me fly her?"

John smirked. "Not a chance. I've been gone for three weeks. That's far too long. I need to...reacquaint myself with her. You understand."

She snorted and sat down in the co-pilot's chair and started running diagnostics that would run the entire time they were in the air. John radioed the control room and let them know they were taking her out on a test flight. "Have someone watching the sensors and keeping an eye on the jumper just to be sure. If you don't hear from us in twenty minutes, try to get ahold of us. Just to be on the safe side."

Lorne's voice came over the radio, "Copy that. You're good to go."

"See you in a little bit, Major. Be sure to keep the porch light on for us."

The bay doors opened and the jumper rose up and out of the jumper bay. John eased her up to a good altitude and held steady for a while just to make sure she wasn't going to suddenly drop out of the sky.

They didn't talk for a while. Neither knowing what to really say, but the silence was getting to Nikki.

"So...Colonel." She looked over at him and he turned to look at her. "Yes, Dr.?"

"Nikki." He almost smiled. "Nikki. Is there something on your mind?"

"Well, now that you mention it. I was wondering what you did while you were back on Earth. You were gone a long time for a promotion."

"I took a week and went to visit my brother and his family. After our conversations…I figured it was the right thing to do."

She nodded, "How did it go?"

John hesitated before he answered, "Well, it was a bit rocky at first. Dave didn't know what to expect when I showed up at his doorstep after a year or so. Then things were fine. Until I had to leave. We got into this big argument about why I'm wasting my life on some top secret base where I can't even tell my own family where I'm at. Let's just say it didn't end on a good note."

Nikki looked over at him. She could see the tension that had come between his shoulders. "Maybe the President would give them security clearance. I mean, just to enough to know that you're doing something really important and all. He did that for Dr. Weir, didn't he?"

John nodded, "Yeah, he did, but that was when we weren't sure if we would ever see Earth again. I don't know. I guess it's worth looking into."

She focused back on her diagnostics, not sure what to say to redirect the conversation away from the tension. She wanted to say something to lighten the mood a bit, but wasn't sure what.

"So how did Ronon and Teyla like being on Earth? What did they do while you were with Dave?"

"They loved it. Colonel Cam Mitchell took them to a few tourist places. I think he took them surfing one day. I'm pretty sure they were in California for the majority of it. I met up with them for a few hours while I was staying with Dave. Dave had gone to the office and his wife Becca was running some errands, so there was nothing to do. The kids were in school. I don't know what all they did exactly, but I know they had a good time."

She smiled, "Well, that's good! I'm glad to hear it. I bet they're glad to be back though."

John nodded, "Yeah. Ronon told me once he didn't want to leave the galaxy until every Wraith was killed, but…he had a good time nonetheless. I'm sure he can sleep easier now that he's back and he can go kill as many Wraith as he wants again."

Nikki chuckled, "It wouldn't surprise me. I have another question."

"I may have an answer."

She rolled her eyes, "I heard you call him Chewy."

John glanced over at her. "That's not a question."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. "Why do you call him that?"

"Please tell me you've seen Star Wars."

She looked over at him, "Well, duh. That's why?"

He nodded with a smirk on his face. "Yep! First time I saw him, that's the first thing that came to mind."

Nikki nodded, thinking about it. "Huh. I can see it."

**SGA**

A couple of hours later, they were back in Atlantis and making their way to the mess hall. Lunch was almost over and they were both starving.

She was right at the end of telling one of her many stories that tended to make people laugh. They walked through the mess hall doors laughing and smiling as they made their way to get food.

Rodney looked up when he heard the familiar sound of Sheppard's laugh. He looked over in the direction he had heard it and watched as the Colonel and Nikki crossed the mess hall and got in line to get food. He looked over at Ronon and Teyla. "Is there something going on between those two? They're awfully...happy."

Ronon looked up from his food. "What are you talking about, McKay?"

He pointed over to the couple getting their food. John was recounting something and using big hand gestures. The look on his face was pure happiness. None of them had seen him that happy in a long time. Ronon and Teyla exchanged looks and smiled. Teyla leaned forward, "Do you not remember the conversation we had with John while on Earth before we came back?"

Rodney scoured his brain for a minute before looking back up at Teyla. "No. We had a conversation about Sheppard and Teagan?"

Ronon grunted and nodded.

_They had all gone out to eat at a sit-down restaurant not too far from the base. They were celebrating in their own little way the Colonel's promotion. They had all been laughing and having a good time while waiting for their food. And then, Ronon spoke up._

"_So, Shep. What's going on between you and Nikki?" John looked up at his friend and raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"_

_Teyla smiled and leaned towards him. "We all see the smiles you two share not so secretly. And you seem...happier than usual."_

_John shrugged and looked down at the table. "We're friends. That's all. Just like she's friends with you guys."_

_Ronon grunted and shook his head. "We all know you like her, Shep. Why don't you man up and tell her?" John almost choked on the beer he had just taken a sip of. "Excuse me? She doesn't like me, so there's nothing to man up about."_

_Ronon smiled, "So you do like her! I knew it." He turned to Teyla. "I told you he liked her."_

_Teyla's smile got bigger as she nodded. "I knew he did just by the glances they would throw each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. John, you may need a lesson in subtlety while we're on your...in your country." She almost slipped up and said on your planet while in a crowded restaurant. That wouldn't have been good. _

_John shook his head and looked away. "I don't know what you guys are talking about. She's just a flirt. She flirts with all the guys. And plus, I'm the CMO of...the base. I don't know how appropriate a relationship would be."_

_Teyla shook her head at him and leaned back in her seat. "She is a scientist, John. She is not in the military. I've become aware of the different rules and regulations of your military." Ronon nodded his head, "Yeah, same here. And she's not on the team."_

_Teyla continued what Ronon was getting at. "So therefore it isn't against any of your rules."_

_Sheppard nodded and looked up at both of them watching him. "I see you two have given this a lot of thought. You know, it's kind of creepy that you guys have been watching me."_

_Ronon grunted and Teyla smiled. "We are only trying to help, John." _

"_You know she's right, Shep. We just want to see you happy for once. Now grow a set and tell her. Or I will."_

_John looked at his beer. "She said she has her eye on someone already."_

_Teyla looked from Ronon back to John. "When did she say this?"_

"_When were on that planet with the Atlans before you guys got there. She told me she wasn't ready to tell him yet. All I got out of it was that it wasn't Chewy here and it wasn't a marine."_

_Ronon raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think it was me?"_

_He shrugged. "She said underneath all your intimidation, you're really big sweetheart. So, it made me wonder. I asked and she said no."_

_Ronon smirked, "Looks like I'll have to have another sparring session with her when we get back."_

_John snorted, but didn't comment. Teyla reached forward and placed her hand on his gently, causing him to look up at her. "Do you really have doubts that she is not talking about you?"_

_When he didn't answer her, it confirmed her suspicions. "John, I cannot make you see the truth because I know how stubborn you are. That being said…you need to talk to her. Tell her how you feel. You never know. The outcome may surprise you."_

_John nodded, "You're right."_

_Rodney looked up from his phone. "Hm? What are we talking about?"_

"Oh. I was talking to Katie Brown while we were there. That must have been during that conversation. I totally tuned it out. Are you sure they like each other?"

Ronon grunted again and Teyla rolled her eyes. "We are very certain. If you need more proof, just look at them." He turned and watched as they sat at a table by themselves where no one else was around. He was telling another story and watching as she couldn't contain her laughter. He had a huge smile on his face. "Huh, I guess you're right. So is he going to do anything about it?"

He turned and looked back at his teammates. Teyla shrugged and sighed. Ronon looked over at them and continued watching them. "We don't know. He played it off as nothing on Earth, but it's obvious it's not nothing."

Ronon got a mischievous look on his face and turned to Teyla. "I know that look, Ronon. What are you planning?"

He smiled and leaned in closer to the table and told Rodney and Teyla his plan, making sure no one around them could overhear.

**So what did you think? Some of you have already read this chapter since the majority of it is from the original version, BUT...there have been several changes and a bit more added in. I hope you liked the new version! ^.^ Next chapter is just about done. Putting finishing touches on it now!**


	7. Can I Ask You A Question?

**A/N: Do not own anything. Nope. Well, besides Nikki. And Alex. And Gordon, but he's not in it anymore, I don't think. Meh, who knows! He could just come back sometime! =D**

**So, here is the next chapter! The following chapter is completely finished. I'll post it either tonight or tomorrow. If you guys have any ideas or if there is anything you want to see...or NOT see...let me know! I'm always open for suggestions.**

**Chapter 4**

Ronon and Teyla followed Rodney to his lab. They refused to leave McKay alone in case he accidentally slipped up and told Sheppard their plan. Knowing him, he would act suspicious, John would start asking questions, and then before you know it, their plan was out in the open.

The plan was to lure both of them to the same room and then cut off power to the door to that room, locking them in for a while. Ronon wanted to cut off communications as well, but they decided it would just make Sheppard panic if he were unable to get ahold of anyone.

Rodney was typing away at his laptop trying to figure out a way to shut off power to only that room. "Okay, I think I've got it. Go ahead and lure them there."

Teyla tapped her com, "Colonel Sheppard, this is Teyla. Please respond."

"Go ahead, Teyla." She looked up at Ronon and he nodded. "There seems to be some kind of power failure in a section near your location. Rodney was wondering if you could go check it out."

"That's fine. Just tell me where to go." Teyla relayed where to go and Ronon tapped his com. "Dr. Nikki Teagan, please respond."

There was a moment of silence and then her voice crackled over the radio. "This is Teagan."

"McKay needs you to go to a certain section of the city and check out a power failure. Said you'd be able to fix it."

She snorted before she responded. "Of course he does. What's the location?" Ronon told her where to go and then they sat back and watched the internal sensors as both Sheppard and Teagan approached the room from opposite directions.

**SGA**

John rounded the corner and found the room Teyla had told him to go to. He entered it and walked straight over to the control panel on the wall. He was about to hit his com when Nikki walked in and stopped and stared at him. "Colonel. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you." And then the door slammed shut behind Nikki. She turned around and waved her hand over the door sensor. Nothing happened. She waved it again, but still nothing happened.

She walked over to the control panel John was standing at. He moved aside since she actually knew what she was doing. She switched around a couple of crystals, but still nothing happened. She messed around with the panel for a good five minutes before finally giving up. "There's nothing I can do from this end."

John hit his com. "McKay, I'm trapped in that room Teyla sent me to. Any way you can open the door and let us out?"

Rodney looked over at Teyla and Ronon and they smiled. "Us? Colonel, who else is with you?"

Sheppard almost rolled his eyes. "Nikki's with me. Now can you open the damn door or not?"

"Give me a few minutes to see what I can do."

"Just hurry it up, Rodney. Let me know when you have something."

"Will do. McKay out."

John turned back to Nikki. "Well, McKay is working on it."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You said Teyla sent you here? Why'd she send you here?"

He moved over to a bench that was conveniently sitting against the opposite wall. "She said McKay wanted me to check out some power failure since I was closer."

She moved and sat down next to him. "Wait, Ronon asked me to come check out a power failure here. According to him, McKay wanted me to check it out and fix it."

They looked at each and held eye contact for a minute. Then John reached up and hit his com. "Ronon. Teyla. Please respond."

They looked at each other and Teyla sighed. "Well, that didn't take long."

Rodney snorted, "Well, what did you expect? Teagan is a scientist. She's smarter than Zalenka. And Sheppard. Well, I have to admit he's smarter than he looks. Actually passed the Mensa. That's enough to throw you for a loop."

"Ronon. Teyla. Please respond." Teyla reached up and hit her com. "Yes, Colonel?"

"What the hell is going on?" She looked over at Ronon. "I do not know what you mean."

"Sure you do. And so does Ronon. Now, tell me what the hell is going on or both of you will be going on the next science mission to the mainland. Overnight."

"We figured two heads were better than one when dealing with this power failure. McKay said if it was not fixed it could mean other problems for Atlantis. You are smart, John, so I recommended to Rodney that you should assist Dr. Teagan in the repairs. I hope this is alright with you, John."

Sheppard rolled his eyes and looked at Nikki. "You're still not off the hook. Just so you know. Let me know when McKay figures things out."

"I will, John. Teyla out."

Sheppard and Nikki just sat there for a few minutes, neither knowing what exactly to say. It was obvious this was planned out and John had a pretty good guess as to why.

"Well, Colonel. It looks like we're going to be stuck in here together for a while."

"John." She looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "What?"

He looked over at her and rested his head against the wall. "Call me John. You don't have to use my rank all the time. Especially when we're stuck in a room together. What is with the two of us getting stuck together alone?"

She smiled and scooted a little closer to him. "I have no idea, _John._ It would seem the universe is messing with our heads."

John chuckled, but let it drop.

**SGA **

McKay snapped his fingers together. "I have an idea. We have no way of knowing when he finally asks her and when we can open the doors. Unless I tap into the city's _cameras_ and we do a little investigating."

Teyla shook her head. "I don't know, Rodney. I feel that would invade the Colonel's privacy a bit too much."

Ronon smirked, "I think it's a great idea. That way we know he actually manned up and did it. It'll only be us three watching and we're his friends. He doesn't have to know." He threw McKay a pointed look as if to say, "And you better not tell him."

Rodney threw his hands into the air. "I won't! I swear!"

Teyla sighed and nodded her head. "Go ahead, Rodney. But make sure only the three of us see this."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll do what I can."

A couple of minutes later, a screen popped up on his laptop. It was a clear view of Sheppard and Nikki sitting close together on a bench on the other side of the room. Ronon and Teyla grabbed chairs and brought them over. They crowded around the laptop. "Is there sound to this video?"

Rodney nodded, "Yeah. They're just not talking yet."

Ronon grunted. "Why?"

McKay looked at him incredulously. "How the hell am I supposed to know? I've been here the whole time!"

Teyla sighed, "John is not a very talkative person, especially in these types of situations. I just hope Nikki will get him talking."

Ronon grunted and they all focused their attention on the screen, hoping their friend would finally make the right move.

**SGA**

"So. _John._ I strictly remember you saying back on the planet that when we got back, we were both going to tell who we like that…you know…we like them."

John glanced over at her. "Yeah, I did."

Nikki eyed him, curiously. "So, have you told her yet?"

He shook his head, looking away from her. "No. I don't think she's interested."

Nikki raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Well, you're never going to know for sure until you man up and tell her how you feel, you know."

John snorted at the irony of the situation. "You sound just like Ronon, you know that?"

Nikki smiled, "So, Ronon knows who it is, but I don't? I'm hurt!"

He rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, Teyla knows too. And McKay…well, I'm pretty sure he wasn't paying attention during that conversation, so I think you're safe with that one."

She shook her head, looking away from him. "When are you going to tell her?"

He shrugged. "I've been thinking about it. I guess I was waiting for the right opportunity or something."

He turned his head towards her. "What about you? Have you told him?"

She shook her head, looking down at her hands. "Nope. I'm as guilty as you are. Besides…I'm in the same boat as you. I don't think he feels the same way. I mean…I'm just a scientist."

John shook his head, "You're not just a scientist, Nikki. You're way more than that."

She looked up at him curiously. "Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"

"Well, we've gotten to know each other pretty well in the past few months you've been here. You're not like the other scientists. For one, you actually stand up to McKay and not cower away from him."

She snorted, "Yeah, I speak my mind. See, a lot of guys don't like that, especially when I'm not afraid to tell them how it is."

He nodded, "It's a good quality though. If it makes you feel any better, I like it."

She smiled, "That's because you tell me how it is right back. You're not afraid to let me know what you think about something."

He shook his head, "No, I'm not. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I know you won't judge me on what I think. A lot of people do. That's why I don't open up to just anyone."

She smiled and rested her head back against the wall. "Well, then it's a good thing we're friends isn't it?"

His smile wavered the slightest bit, but he nodded. "Yeah. It's a good thing."

**SGA**

Rodney stared at the screen. "Um…did he just get friend-zoned?"

Ronon looked over at him curiously, "What's that?"

Rodney tore his gaze away from the screen. "Where a guy and a girl are good friends, but one of them likes the other. The one that doesn't like the other puts them in the friend-zone and talks about who they like and how they're the best of friends. The one that likes the other has to settle for only being friends and watch the other person date other people. I guess it could happen to…same sex couples too. A guy and a guy…a girl and a girl…But! In this case, John is being friend-zoned by Nikki. Or…is he?"

Teyla looked at the screen and her brow furrowed. "It seems like she likes John though. Maybe she is just nervous and thinks he likes someone else when it's actually her that he likes."

Ronon shook his head. "This is all way too confusing."

Rodney snorted. "You're telling me. So, Sheppard likes Nikki, but he thinks she likes another guy and is friend-zoning him. Nikki likes Sheppard, but thinks he likes another girl and is friend-zoning her. This…is like the ultimate love triangle, only without the extra person getting in the way."

Ronon's brow furrowed. "What the hell is a love triangle?"

McKay made a face at him, but explained anyway. "When one person likes someone, that person likes another person, and that person likes the first person. It just keeps going round and round and no one wins. Like one big circle, only…in the shape of a triangle."

Ronon shook his head, "Your planet's weird."

Rodney snorted, "You can say that again."

Teyla frowned, "I am all but certain that the person Nikki likes is John. We already know that the person John likes is Nikki. They need to tell each other before this gets out of control and both of them get hurt."

McKay looked over at her. "How would they get hurt? There's no actual third person. Or fourth, for that matter."

"Because John believes that Nikki likes another man who is not him, therefore he is hurt that she does not like him. Nikki believes that John likes another woman who is not her, therefore she is hurt that he does not like her. As you said, it goes around in a circle."

Rodney looked back at the screen where both John and Nikki were just sitting there, not talking. They were both sucked into their own little worlds, both worried about who the other person liked.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that this is turning into one big soap opera?"

Ronon frowned. "What the hell is a soap opera?"

"You seriously need to get educated on Earth culture."

**SGA**

"Can I ask you a question, John?"

He turned and looked at Nikki. "Why not."

She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Why are you so close to your team and not so much with everyone else?"

He stopped and thought about that for a minute. "Every time I walk through the stargate, I know that my team has my six and they know I have theirs."

"Well yeah, but it's more than that. I see the way you guys interact with each other."

He looked away and looked down at his hands. "You know I don't really have anyone to go back to on Earth. I mean…my dad died a year ago and before that whenever I'd see him, we'd always fight. I did try to patch things up with Dave, but…that didn't work out too well. My point is...They mean more to me than friends. They're...my family. Teyla...is like the sister I never had. She acts like a mother for the team and she's perfect for the job. Ronon, hah. Well, he's one of a kind. I've never seen as much loyalty as he has for his team. I can always count on him to have my six and do his damnedest to do everything he can to get us all home. I don't know what we'd...I'd do without him here."

Nikki nodded her head. She reached over and grabbed John's hand and squeezed it. "What about Rodney?"

He chuckled to himself. "Ah, Rodney. He can be arrogant, full of himself, over the top, and obnoxious, but…he has a good heart. He's saved my ass more times than I can count. He's kind of like the little brother of the group. The annoying one that drives you crazy, but you can't seem to live without him. Don't tell him this, but he's definitely an important part of my team."

"You really care about your team. I have never seen someone so attached and thankful for their teammates. Is there anyone else on this base that's in your adopted family?"

He smiled and blushed slightly. "Well. Elizabeth means a great deal to me. She's like an aunt or something, hah. And then there's Beckett and Lorne. Lorne's like a brother to me. More of a brother than my real one. How sad is that."

She squeezed his hand again and placed her other hand on his arm. "I don't know what I'd do without these people. I can't imagine going back to my life before Atlantis. All I had then was a dad who never wanted me to be happy, a brother who took my dad's side and an ex-wife who…oh yeah, took my dad's side."

"Have you told any of them any of this?" He laughed and looked at her. "For one, I'm not good when it comes to talking about…feelings. This right here is rare. Though, you do seem to get it out of me more often than anyone else ever has. And for two…well, to them I'm probably just their team leader and the one who comes to rescue their asses when they get in trouble."

"Maybe you should tell them. At least in your own little way."

He paused for a minute to collect his thoughts. "I told Teyla once when Ronon was in trouble that I'd give my life for any one of them. And I would. I wouldn't hesitate. Not for a second."

Nikki rested her head on his shoulder. "You're very protective of them. I wouldn't want to get on your bad side."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about."

He smiled down at her before resting his head on hers and they fell into a comfortable silence.

"So I hear you've been taking flying lessons with Lorne."

She nodded, "Yes, I have. Since a certain pilot won't teach me, I had to learn somehow."

He nodded his head and stared at the opposite wall. "I'll take you out flying sometime if you want." She lifted her head from his shoulder and stared at him. "You will?"

He turned and his eyes connected with hers. A small smile appeared on his face. "As long as you don't kill us." She rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder with hers. His smile grew and he continued to stare at her. "Why are you staring at me?"

He chuckled and looked away. "No reason."

**SGA**

"Huh. Don't they make a cute couple."

Ronon grunted and watched the screen. He was getting a little frustrated with Sheppard for continually avoiding the obvious. He had had several openings, but he didn't take a single one. He kept changing the subject.

"Ronon, are you sure this was such a good idea? If he finds out we were behind this, he will not be too happy with us." Ronon turned and looked at Teyla. "He won't find out. As long as McKay here keeps his mouth shut."

"I won't tell him! Jeeze, you act as if I can't keep a secret." Teyla and Ronon exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes.

"Okay. See! He's getting somewhere now! Maybe…"

**SGA**

The silence was getting to Nikki. John was her friend and they were just sitting here in silence. There was something wrong with that picture. It was a comfortable silence, but a silence nonetheless.

"So…let's play a game."

John turned his head to look at her incredulously. "A game?"

She nodded, "Yeah! A game. I'll ask a question, and you answer it. Then I have to answer my own question or a similar version to it. Then it's your turn to ask a question."

He stared at her for a moment, wondering what sort of problems this could get him into. "Okay..."

She smiled, "Okay! Hm…let's see. I'll start off with some simple ones. Like…what's your favorite color?"

He thought about it for a second, "Green."

She smirked, "Really? I would have guessed black."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I've heard I'm full of surprises. What's yours?"

"Blue. My first car was blue, basically all my lead ropes are blue. When I was a kid, I'd wear a blue ribbon in my hair."

He smiled, picturing a younger version of Nikki wearing a blue ribbon wrapped around her ponytail. "Okay. Favorite food."

She didn't even hesitate with her answer. "My mom used to experiment when she cooked. She'd throw things together that probably would normally never be put together. One night she made this concoction that looked like it would taste weird, but it was actually pretty good. She called it screwy noodle. It has scrambled hamburger, corn, a can of cream of mushroom to keep everything together, a layer of spiral noodles, and then a thick layer of cream cheese. Every time I go home now, I ask her to make it for me."

He smiled, "It sounds like it'd be good."

She nodded, "I'll have to get the recipe and make it for you sometime. We'll have to invite Alex though because he would kill me if he found out I made it and he didn't get any."

He chuckled and nodded, "Sounds like a plan. We can make it a group thing too. Turn it into a movie night or poker night or something. Just hang out."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I'd love that. Now. Spill. Favorite food."

This one took him a moment. "I'd have to say…a nice, juicy, homemade hamburger. I have my own recipe I perfected back after my divorce when I was cooking for one again. I'll have to make some sometime."

She nodded, "I haven't had a good hamburger in…years."

He nodded, "It's settled then. Maybe this weekend we can all get together and I'll make some."

She nodded, "Okay. My turn. Um…first car."

He smiled, "'80's Camaro. I loved that car."

Nikki smiled, "'67 Impala. It was my Dad's and he gave it to me when I turned sixteen. I loved that car. Still have it too."

John's smile widened a fraction, "Those are nice cars."

Nikki nodded, "Yeah, they are. It's your turn."

He paused for a moment, "Is this like truth or dare? Where you have to answer the question truthfully?"

Her eyes narrowed at him, but she nodded slowly. "The point is to get to know the person, so yeah. Essentially, the point is to be honest and open with each other no matter the question. Though, I will allow one pass per person."

John nodded, thinking over his next question. "Sounds fair. Hm. What's your favorite thing to do when no one else is around?"

She thought about it, considering her options. "I like to read. I'm a huge book nerd."

He smiled, thinking about his own book collection. "That doesn't surprise me."

She rolled her eyes, "Okay then, what about you, huh? What's your favorite thing to do?"

He looked away from her and paused. She'd already caught him, so he might as well just say it. "I like to play the piano. And even the guitar sometimes. Just get lost in the music for a while."

"Have you written any songs? Other than…that one?"

He smiled softly and looked at his hands. "Yeah, a few. They're not very good, but…it's not like anyone will ever hear them, so it's okay."

"I'd like to someday."

He looked up at her. "Really?"

She nodded, "Yeah. The one I heard was beautiful. I'd love to hear more."

He smiled shyly and looked away. "Okay, your turn."

"Let's try a more personal one. When did you lose your virginity?"

He blushed, but answered anyway. "When I was fifteen. Nancy and I had been dating for a while. Of course, about three months later she moved away. Her dad got transferred to another office and she had to go with. They moved back seven or eight months later."

Nikki's brow furrowed, but she let it drop. It was probably just a coincidence, but her mind had went there automatically. He looked up at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, right. Um…I think I was sixteen. Yeah, real douche too. Your first love always breaks your heart."

He nodded, "Yeah, I hear you there. So…I'm dying to know. And since you said we were such good friends…"

He was looking down at his hands, trying to get up the courage to ask what he really wanted to know. Nikki looked at him and raised one of her eyebrows questioningly. "Yes…?"

He took a deep breath and just blurted it out, "I want to know who you like."

Her mouth dropped open just a bit, shocked at the question. She hadn't been expecting him to ask that. She looked down at her hands, not sure if she had the courage to tell him yet.

"I think I'll use my pass now."

He looked up at her and got an idea. "If you tell me who you like, I'll tell you who I like."

She looked him in the eye and hesitated. Did she dare?

_What if it's all in my imagination and he likes someone else? I'll look like an idiot if I just tell him. Should I lie and tell him I like one of the pilots? He already knows it's not a marine…No. I have to be honest with him. He's been nothing but honest with me so far. It doesn't matter if this is about to be the most mortifying experience in your life. You know…trapped in a locked room with the man you so desperately want and he wants someone else. Yeah, how humiliating._

She studied him, trying to see if she could figure out if he was going to lie to her or what. She really didn't know what she was looking for.

_Oh, just suck it up already, Nikki. If he doesn't like you, then you'll get over it. You can still be friends. It'll be a little awkward at first, but you can still be friends. It'll be okay. Just…grow some balls and tell him._

She nodded, "Okay."

John took another deep breath, not sure if would be able to survive the humiliation if this went completely south. But…he trusted Ronon and Teyla and they said she liked him, so…all bets were on them.

"You go first."

Nikki nodded, taking in a couple of deep breaths, extremely nervous. "I…uh. You see…Oh, what the hell. Who cares if this is about to be the most humiliating experience in my entire life."

She looked down at her hands, not being able to stop them from shaking. "It's you."

The room was silent and Nikki thought she was about to die from an anxiety attack. She finally got the courage to look up at him and what she found shocked her.

He had a huge smile on his face and he was watching her. "What?"

He shook his head slowly. "It's you too."

A smile of her own started to spread across your face. "Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Who else would it be?"

She shook her head, her smile still growing. "I don't know. I was not expecting that though."

He chuckled, his smile dimming slightly, but it brightened all the more in his eyes.

She laughed softly, incredulously, and they both closed the distance and their lips met. It was just a light kiss that last a few seconds. John pulled away slightly and stared into her eyes. "Would this be a good time to ask if you'd like to have dinner sometime?" She laughed and her smile lit her entire face. "I'd love to. On one condition."

He raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?" She paused to let the suspense grow a little. "You have to kiss me again. And kiss me like you mean it." His smile was just as powerful as hers was. "I think that can be arranged."

He grabbed both sides of her head with his hands and kissed her passionately. After a moment, his right hand slid to cup the back of her neck and his thumb on his left hand was rubbing circles on her cheek. Her hands went up and rested on his chest. They stayed that way for a few minutes, just reveling in each other's scents and touch.

She pulled back this time and looked at him. "Wow. You know, some of the other scientists have this theory that you're a pretty good kisser."

"Oh, really? And did I just prove them right?" She giggled and rolled her eyes. "I'll let you figure that one out on your own."

He snorted and pulled her in for another kiss.

**SGA **

Ronon fist pumped the air. "It's about damn time, Sheppard!" Teyla grinned and joined in with Ronon's happiness for their friend. Rodney turned to look at them. "You know what bothers me?"

"Oh don't you start, McKay. Just be happy for them."

He nodded, "Oh, I am. Believe me. But…it's just something that Sheppard said earlier. I didn't really think about it until now."

Teyla turned to look at him, sobering up a little from her excitement. "What is that, Rodney?"

"Well, he said that he's sure he's just a team leader to us and someone who comes and saves our asses when we get in trouble. Does he really think he doesn't mean that much to us? I mean, I don't know about you guys, but…he's more than that."

Teyla nodded and looked back at the screen. "I agree. It saddens me that he thinks we think so little of him. Surely he must know he means more to us. I wonder if there is anything we can do to make him see the truth."

Rodney nodded and started thinking. "Maybe we could..no, that'd never work. Oh! How about..no..that wouldn't work either."

Ronon snorted, "We can't do anything obvious. Otherwise he's gonna know we heard everything he said."

"Ronon is right. Maybe if we just do some little things that show how much we care. Like things we say in a conversation? He must not know we were listening and watching this."

Rodney nodded and turned back to the screen. "Um...so when should I open the door?"

Ronon smiled. "Oh, give them some more time. I'm sure they're not in any hurry to leave."

**So what did you think about John taking Ronon and Teyla's advice and manning up? I really wanted to show him getting up the courage and just going for it. The next chapter will be the date! ^.^ For those of you who have read the original, there is more to it and some of it has been changed. So, it is not the same chapter. Thank you all for continuing to read and supporting this story! It means a lot to me. ^.^**


	8. First Date

**A/N: Do not own SGA. Just Nikki and Alex. And other original characters.**

**So, I know I'm late updating this. Sorry about that. I was pretty busy yesterday and didn't have the time to get onto my computer. Well, here is their first date! Enjoy! Also, for those who read the original version...details have been changed as well as more has been added to add humor. I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 7**

About five days after John and Nikki were stuck in that room together was the day of their first date. He hadn't wanted to make it too soon and seem desperate, but he hadn't wanted to put it off either and make it seem like he really wasn't interested. Also, he really wanted to go on the date with her and spend some time alone with her.

Ever since they got out of that room, he had been trying to figure out what he could possibly do for their first date. The first date was supposed to make a good impression, be magical, memorable.

For the past couple of days, he had been fidgety and kind of distracted. Teyla had been the only one to really notice it at first until she mentioned it to the rest of the team.

They were sitting at lunch the day of the date. McKay had been rambling on and on about some kind of new discovery he had made. John was tuning him out, trying to figure out what he can do to impress Nikki.

"Are you even listening to me? Sheppard? Sheppard. Colonel!" John snapped out of it and turned to look at Rodney. His whole team was watching him. "What? Did you say something?"

Rodney raised his eyebrows and got a worried expression on his face. "What is up with you?"

He shook his head. "What do you mean? I'm fine."

Teyla rested her hand on John's forearm. "John, you have not been yourself lately. You have been…distracted. Is there something wrong?"

John looked down at his food. "No. I've just been trying to come up with some good idea for the date tonight. It's been almost a week and I still have no idea what I'm going to do yet."

He looked up at Teyla and sighed. She smiled, "I would be more than happy to help you plan, if you wish, John."

Ronon nodded, "Yeah, me too."

Ronon looked at McKay, who just sat there staring at the group. He kicked Rodney. "Ow! Okay! Me too. Although I don't know how much help I'll be." Ronon rolled his eyes and continued eating.

"Thanks guys. So. Any ideas?" John looked back at Teyla and then at Ronon.

They spent the next two and a half hours trading ideas back and forth before John was finally satisfied with that they had come up with. He thanked his friends and then took off out of the mess hall to go get things ready. He only had three and a half hours before he had to be at her door.

He went straight for Elizabeth's office to get started.

**SGA**

Three and a half hours later, he was standing outside of Nikki's quarters. He was wearing black dress pants, a white button down shirt with the first couple of buttons undone, and a black jacket. He wanted to look his best for the date, but he didn't want to be _too_ dressed up. That just wasn't like him.

He straightened his jacket and ran a hand through his messy hair. He let out a nervous shaky breath and waved his hand over the door sensor.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. McKay always called him Kirk for being the never-failing lady's man, but he really wasn't. Sure, he knew how to throw his smile in their direction and catch their eye, but when it came to actually dating, it made him more nervous than walking right onto a battlefield, guns blazing.

What if he said the wrong thing? What if he made a move and she didn't want him to? What if he made the wrong move? What if he didn't make a move when she wanted him to? Tons of what if questions were swirling around his mind never ending. The first date was always the hardest for him. Of course, he rarely ever got past the first date. That was probably why first dates were always the hardest.

The door opened and Nikki was standing there looking as beautiful as ever. She had her hair down and slightly curled at the ends. She was wearing a blue and white sundress.

"Wow. You look absolutely amazing."

She smiled, "You don't look too bad yourself there, handsome." He smiled and held out his elbow for her.

She put her arm through his and he led her through the halls towards the jumper bay. "So, where are we going?"

He looked down at her and smiled. "You'll have to wait and find out when we get there."

She rolled her eyes, but followed him. They walked into the jumper bay and she narrowed her eyes at him. She was starting to get suspicious. He looked down at her again. "Just trust me, okay?"

She nodded as he led her into the back of one of the jumpers. He sat down in the pilot's chair and radioed the control room. "Control room, this is Sheppard. I'm taking jumper one out for a while. We'll be back in a little while."

"Copy that, sir. We'll leave the porch light on."

"Good. Sheppard out."

Nikki sat down in the co-pilot's chair and just watched Sheppard work the controls. "You really are a mystery, you know that, John?"

He smirked and nodded. "That's not the first time someone's told me that. Might want to get comfortable. It's about a half hour ride to where we're going."

She rolled her eyes again and sat back in the chair. They made small talk during the flight. And then suddenly, Sheppard started dropping lower, but there wasn't land for miles still. She watched as he maneuvered the jumper closer and closer to the water. "Um, John, what are you doing?"

"Just watch and see. You'll love it."

He dipped the jumper down into the water and continued forward for a couple more minutes. Where was he taking her?

That's when she looked up and saw a big coral reef looming up ahead. When they reached it, he dropped the jumper down onto the bed of ocean they were at. He turned and looked at her reaction. She was gazing admiringly up at the beautiful sight. There was tons of different colored coral everywhere, along with what seemed to be thousands of pretty colored fish swimming here and there. Some had been startled by the jumper, but they seemed to be fine now.

"John…this…this is beautiful. How did you find this place?" He smiled and stood up. He moved to the back of the jumper and retrieved a basket and a blanket. He moved back into the cockpit and then closed the doors to the rear compartment. He spread the blanket down on the floor against the door and set the basket down on top of it.

John walked over to Nikki and held out his hand. "Would you like to join me and enjoy the view while we eat?" She looked up at him with the biggest smile on her face. She took his hand and followed him over to the doors. They sat down on the blanket and he unloaded the basket.

He had brought turkey sandwiches, some grapes, slices of apple, and some wine. "Care for some wine?"

Her smile got brighter. "Please." He dug out two wine glasses and poured both of them a glass of wine before distributing the food. "Hm. Turkey sandwiches, fruit, and wine…" He grimaced and set down the bottle. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm not that great of a cook, so I had to bribe the kitchen staff."

She placed a hand on his. "You didn't let me finish." He looked up at her with a question in his eyes. "With a breathtaking view. I love it." His smile was almost as bright as hers. He looked over at the coral. "Yeah, it sure is a nice sight."

"I wasn't only talking about the coral." He turned and looked at her. She was staring at him intently. "Neither was I." They both blushed a little and took a sip of wine.

They ate their meal and went through a couple of glasses of wine each. He poured them another glass each and set the bottle off to the side. They were already almost done with the first bottle.

He put all the leftovers into the basket and set the basket on one of the seats sitting nearby. He made a snap decision and wrapped his right arm around Nikki's waist and pulled her over to him. She gasped a little at first, since she had been distracted by the coral, but then snuggled into his side to get comfortable as they stared up at the view.

"So tell me, John, why did you go to all of this trouble? I would have been satisfied with sitting on one of the balconies in Atlantis."

He looked down at her with a smile in his eyes. "It's our first date. I wanted to make it special."

"So, does that mean there's going to be a second?"

He smiled, "And a third, I hope. Maybe even a fourth after that if you're not tired of me by then."

She giggled and looked up at him with such a warm, beautiful smile.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

She giggled again and shook her head. "No? Well, I need to change that, now don't I?" His smile stretched onto his face, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my entire life." She blushed a little at his words. He leaned down and placed his lips on hers. She kissed him back and carefully set her glass down to the side and he did the same. She placed her hand on his chest and then ran it up to wrap around his neck. He cupped her face with his left hand and then slowly slid his hand down her neck, down her arm, and then rested it on her waist.

They took it slow at first, adjusting to their position, their surroundings, the new sensations they were experiencing. Then she inched closer and managed to wrap both arms around his neck instead of just the one. He raised his other hand to rest on her back as he brought her closer to him.

As things started to heat up a little, the lights suddenly turned off. They didn't even seem to notice. They kept getting closer until they were pressed up against each other. John slowly slid them down to lay on the floor.

He wasn't going to take things too far tonight. It was only their first date, after all. They laid on the floor in each other's arms as they kissed each other passionately. She rolled on top of him and he let her. She kept running her hands up and down his chest. He kept rubbing circles into her back to keep his hands from roaming too far.

She pulled away to catch her breath. She looked down at him and they stared into each other's eyes. "Well, I can honestly say that this is the best date I've ever been on. Not to mention the first time I've ever been on a date with someone with such high standing in the military. I didn't think you were allowed to go on dates with someone under your command."

He smiled and nipped her lips once before responding. "Only if they're in the military or on my team. You're neither, so it's not against the rules."

"Ah, I see. Well, that's too bad. I like being a rebel."

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. He kept nipping at her lips, but it wasn't getting him anywhere. She kept teasing him. He pushed his head up and brought his lips to her neck. He kissed up and down her neck, making her lean into him more. He kissed his way up her jawline and then traced her lips with his before finally letting them rest on hers.

Her teeth grazed his lips and his lips parted. She slipped her tongue inside his mouth and started exploring. He let her explore for a while before he started using his tongue to battle for dominance. He slid hers out of his mouth and then his tongue into hers. They kept going back and forth for a good fifteen minutes before they pulled apart to catch their breath again.

He looked up at her with a lopsided grin on his face. "How the hell did I manage to get a date with you?" She laughed and shook her head. "You know, I was just asking myself that very same question."

He rolled his eyes and then glanced at his watch. They had been gone for hours already. It was probably time they start heading back since they had a half hour ride home. Especially since he had to get up really early for a mission the next morning.

"As much as I would love to stay here for a while longer, we should probably start heading back."

She took his wrist and looked at his watch. She sighed and nodded. "You're right. We both have to get up super early tomorrow."

They sat up from their position, but she didn't move off of him quite yet. She was straddling his thighs while he sat there with his hands rested on her legs. He reached up and pecked her lips one more time.

He looked around and noticed that during their little make-out session, they had knocked over his glass of wine. "Uh oh…McKay is going to be pissed at me." She chuckled and reached for her own glass. She downed most of the glass with one drink and then offered the rest to him. He smirked, downed the rest of hers, reached for the bottle, and took a big swig.

She rolled her eyes. "Show off."

He laughed wholeheartedly, took another drink, and then put the cork back on the bottle. She stood up and moved to help him clean up the mess. He placed the glasses in the basket while she folded up the blanket and then laid it on top of the basket. He didn't have anything to clean up the spilled wine with, so he would have to come back and do that after they had gotten back to Atlantis.

They made the trip back home. This time it wasn't that silent. They were laughing and telling more stories the entire way there. Not that the alcohol had anything to do with it…or the fact that they had busted out the wine and finished off the first bottle.

When they got back to Atlantis, he opened the rear compartment doors and then the rear hatch. He grabbed the basket in one hand and then entwined his fingers on his other hand with Nikki's.

Right after they left the jumper bay, she had reached inside and grabbed the second wine bottle. They finished off half of it before they reached her door. They were both laughing and had huge smiles on their faces. He set the basket down on the floor, wrapped his arms around Nikki, pulled her into him, and their lips met moments later. They stayed like that for a few minutes, neither wanting to break away.

Finally, John pulled back and stared down at her admiringly. "Good night, Nikki." She smiled up at him and then pecked his lips one last time. "Good night, John."

She walked into her room and he watched as the doors closed behind her. He picked up the basket and made his way to the mess hall with the hugest smile on his face.

He walked in and found one table occupied. He hadn't thought anyone would be in there since it was nearly two in the morning. He set the basket inside the door to the kitchen and made his way over to the table where his team sat. He sat down and they looked up at him. Ronon got a huge grin on his face at the sight of Sheppard swaying slightly and a huge grin plastered to his face, his eyes a little glassy.

"So, how'd the date go?"

Sheppard's grin got even wider as he sat back in the chair and got comfortable. "Oh you know, it went well." Ronon snorted and leaned towards him. "Shep, you wreak. Have you been drinking?"

He hadn't told them that he had already planned on taking wine with him. He hadn't thought that was a necessary detail. "Just wine."

Teyla laughed at the sight of her friend. "How much did you drink?"

He looked like he was concentrating on something. "Um...a bottle and a half…I think."

McKay snorted. "You do realize we're going on a mission first thing in the morning, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I had fun. Well, I had more than fun. But you don't need to know that."

Ronon's smile got even bigger. "So, what did you two lovebirds do?" John rolled his eyes, but then launched into his recounting of their date. Leaving out how passionately they had made-out though. He wanted to leave some details to the imagination.

"So, you both had a good time then."

John nodded a little bit too much, "Yeah! Yeah, we did. Of course we did. Very memorable, if I do say so myself. Even got myself a second date. It's been a while since I've made it past the first."

Rodney snorted, "What? Did you use the old method of one night stands a little too much?"

John frowned. "No, I did not wham bam, thank you ma'am, thank you very much. Well, once in a while, but who hasn't."

Rodney shook his head, "Man, you are drunk. You should…you know…get some sleep. And drink some water."

John shook his head, "No, I don't need water. I'm fine. I'm not drunk."

Ronon grunted, "Yeah, that's what you say now. In the morning you're going to be pretty hungover. What kind of wine was it?"

He shrugged, "Uh, I think it was that Ruus wine Halling gave me a month back or so."

Teyla grinned. "That would explain it. Did Nikki drink as much as you?"

John swayed a little in his seat as he tried to think back to the date. "Um…just about."

Teyla's smile widened, "You will both be quite hung over in the morning. I suggest taking some medicine when you wake up."

John shook his head, "Nah, I don't get bad hangovers anymore. Not since college. College…those were some good parties."

Rodney snorted, "I knew it! I knew you were the partying type! You were the type who would party constantly and not do a damn thing besides get wasted and then get laid."

John's brow scrunched up. "I hardly ever partied in college, for your information. I was in the Air Force, so I had training all the time. And, I was taking a full load of classes. I never missed a single class."

Rodney shook his head, "I don't believe you."

"Whatever. Don't believe me. At least I'm fun and can drink. You don't."

McKay looked at him as if he were a lemon and he was trying to eat him. "I am fun! And I do drink. Occasionally."

Teyla smiled at Rodney. "Rodney, you have to take into consideration that John is not completely in control of what he is saying at the moment."

Rodney sat up straighter, snapping his fingers. "That's right! So, let's test that theory. Hm. What to ask. Who's your favorite of the team? I mean, I know I'm pretty important, but please…spare their feelings."

John smiled, "Well, that's a tough decision. Teyla is pretty awesome, but Ronon here is pretty badass. Teyla's badass too, but Ronon's a guy. So, I'm going with Ronon."

Ronon grinned from ear to ear, shoving McKay playfully. "Hey, no fair! The guy with dreadlocks already has a fan base!"

John shrugged before practically jumping to his feet. He swayed violently, almost crashing to the floor.

Teyla reached out a hand to steady him, but he brushed it off saying he was fine. "I will see you all at 0500 hours. Don't be late!"

As he staggered his way to the door and almost falling down the four steps, he heard Ronon yell out, "Yeah, don't be late, Shep!"

They watched as he made a line towards the door that was anything, but straight. They were all grinning at the sight. None of them could wait to see how bad the hangover was the next day.

John smirked and made his way to his quarters. He opened the door and went straight to his bed. He stopped to take off his jacket, but then face-planted the mattress. He was out before his face hit the pillow.

**SGA**

0450 hours the next morning, he awoke to the sound of his alarm going off. He looked at the clock and his eyes widened. He was supposed to be in the gate room in ten minutes. He got up as quickly as he could, changed, got his boots on, grabbed his side arm, and practically ran out the door, no time for a shower.

He booked it down to the locker room to get ready. He went through his usual motions of getting his equipment, his shades, and his tact vest on, but this time in a huge rush. He was so late and he knew Ronon would give him crap for it.

His team, as well as Lorne's team, and an extra science team that included Nikki, were all set to go. Ronon and Teyla walked over to Nikki who was spacing out, definitely hungover.

Teyla smiled at her, "We heard you had a good time last night."

Nikki snapped out of her trance and looked up at them standing in front of her. They were both smiling at her. "Yeah, it was great. I had a good time. Wait…how did you know?"

Ronon's smile widened. "Shep came into the mess hall last night. He was pretty drunk. Couldn't walk in a straight line."

She smiled, "Yeah, I don't think I was either by the time I got back to my quarters. We drank a lot of wine…"

Teyla nodded, "Yes, we heard. He was quite entertaining to watch. It is of no surprise to me that he is late."

Nikki looked around the gate room. Sure enough, he wasn't there. Ronon grunted. "He's the only one not here. How long do we wait until we send a search party?"

Nikki chuckled, "Aw, he's only…" She looked down at her watch and grimaced, "About ten minutes late. Give him two more and then we'll start to send the cavalry."

Teyla smiled, "That will not be necessary."

They both looked over towards the locker room and sure enough, John was walking out. His face was slightly pale and his eyes were a little red. He was definitely hungover.

He walked up the stairs and spotted them almost immediately. He walked over and stood next to Ronon. "And you were the one who told us not to be late."

"Oh shut it." Ronon smiled and slapped his hand on his friend's back. Sheppard grimaced, but didn't say anything more. His head was pounding as he'd forgotten to take any ibuprofen before he ran out of his quarters.

Lorne walked over to him and dropped his voice. "Are you okay, sir? You don't look too good."

John smirked and checked his p90 to make sure it was in working order. "I'm fine, Major, just had an…interesting night last night." He couldn't stop as his eyes flicked over and made contact with Nikki's. She smiled at him, but didn't say anything.

"Ah, I got it, sir. No worries." He looked back at Lorne as he smiled and moved away. Nikki stepped closer to him and smiled as well.

"Man, you look as bad as I feel. It probably wasn't the smartest to drink a bottle and a half last night."

He laughed and turned to look at her. "No, but it was fun. Just wait until next time."

He winked and her smile grew. "Oh, I can't wait."

"Good. It'll be even better."

They entwined their fingers for a minute, relishing in the feel of the other's touch before letting go. John signaled to Chuck that they were all set, completely ignoring the smiles on Ronon and Teyla's faces.

He so couldn't wait until their next date. It was going to be a blast.

**So, what'd you think? I'll try to get the next chapter updated soon. I was asked to put in a chapter on what the team does on their day off. I'm still trying to figure out a way to work that without it becoming another Sunday...I don't think any of us want that... *cringes* For those of you who actually like that episode...I'm sorry. That is my least favorite one and I cry. I curse the name of the writers for invoking so much pain on the fandom thanks to that episode. They renewed my hope in the series when they brought him back, so it's all good. **

**Anywho, anyone else particularly want to strangle a certain scientist who got into Weir's face in episode three, Thirty eight minutes, and had his privates busted? Let me know! I have some plans for him... ^.^**


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